German court rules in migration case that there’s no general danger now to all civilians in Syria

BERLIN (AP) — A German court has ruled that there is no longer a general danger to all civilians from the long-running conflict in Syria. In the ruling it rejected a claim to protected status by a Syrian man who had been convicted in Austria for involvement in smuggling people into Europe. The ruling was announced Monday. Germany’s justice minister said Tuesday it was “a decision that one can understand,” noting that the situation varies from one region to another. It wasn’t immediately clear what consequences if any the ruling would have for German authorities’ practice in handling claims for protection from Syrians, who so far largely have been deemed to face a threat. It could still be appealed.