A Syrian migrant, convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in Germany before skipping probation and fleeing to the U.K., is fighting his extradition back to Germany, claiming his forced return would violate his human rights.
The case has drawn attention in both Germany and Britain after it emerged that 34-year-old Azizadeen Alsheikh Suliman, who had been living in taxpayer-funded accommodation in England, was wanted under a European arrest warrant for breaching the terms of his sentence.
The assault took place in Osnabrück in 2022, when the victim, then 15, encountered the man in the city center early in the morning. As reported by Bild, he approached her under the pretext of asking for a cigarette before attempting to kiss her and later sexually assaulting her in a nearby courtyard.
🇩🇪🇬🇧 A Syrian migrant, convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in Germany before skipping probation and fleeing to the UK, is fighting his extradition back to Germany, claiming his forced return would violate his human rights.
Azizadeen Alsheikh Suliman, 34, was… pic.twitter.com/xzLdfzdnpU
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) February 6, 2026The Sun newspaper noted he groped the schoolgirl before exposing himself to her.
German courts later convicted him of sexual assault and also of supplying drugs to a minor, for which he received a two-year suspended custodial sentence, conditional on probation. He was also ordered to pay €3,000 in compensation to the victim, which to date has not been fulfilled.
Instead, Suliman fled Germany, triggering a European arrest warrant. He later travelled to Britain via a small boat in the English Channel, where he applied for asylum using a different spelling of his name, allowing him to avoid detection for several years.
He was housed in a taxpayer-funded hotel in the Greater Manchester area, where he lived with his wife and young child before eventually being identified. At the request of the German authorities, extradition proceedings were commenced.
During hearings at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, judges ruled that he should be returned to Germany. Judge Timothy King confirmed that earlier rulings ordering extradition would stand, telling the defendant that none of the arguments presented against extradition were accepted.
However, Suliman has appealed, claiming he faces death if returned to Germany due to the fact that his cousin killed multiple members of another gang in a feud originating in Syria, and that he could be targeted for revenge if he is returned. His defense also invoked Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, arguing his extradition would unjustly separate him from his wife and child.
The appeal is now being heard in the UK.
Should he be returned to Germany, it is likely that Suliman would be required to serve a substantial portion of his suspended sentence, upon completion of which his asylum status would be revoked, potentially leading to deportation proceedings back to Syria.
