EU Court of Justice in Luxemburg gave the green light to prison for fraud in obtaining Schengen visas. As the court stated in its latest decision, the highest judicial organ of the European Union turned for the explanation to the Supreme Court of Germany, which considered the case of organizing illegal migration into the country.
According to German prosecutors, a citizen of Vietnam as part of an organized group was helping his compatriots to enter Hungary on tourist visas but then illegally shipped them to Germany. For these services he earned from $10 000 to $15 000. Finally the suspect was arrested by German police. Having reviewed his case, the court sentenced the man to four years and three months imprisonment. Convict appealed the sentence, and it came to the German Supreme Court. This one, in turn, appealed to the European Court of Justice for clarification whether the authorities of the Member State could prosecute the organizers of illegal migration, if their Schengen visas at the time of the case initiation were not void and, therefore, are considered legitimate.
Having considered the request, the European Court of Justice ruled that bringing illegal immigrants and their supporters to justice is not contrary to EU law even if the visas were obtained legally, but by the deception of competent authorities. It does not matter then whether are these visas canceled at the time of the proceedings initiation.
In this regard, the court did not find any obstacle to confirm the conviction issued by the German court .
Let us recall that last week the Interior Minister of Germany Hans-Peter Friedrich said that if the Member States do not respect the Schengen agreementon on its zone borders and can not constrain a wave of illegal immigration, then it is necessary to fight it through the introduction of border controls.
Source: Visa-Free Europe
