Two German citizens were declared undesirable in Romania for ten years after the authorities found out that they were carrying out activities that represent a threat to national security. They were expelled from Romania on March 1, the General Immigration Inspectorate (IGI) announced on Thursday, March 2.

One of the two German citizens was of Syrian origins, according to a statement from the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI).

The two, identified by their initials M.B. and N.R., came into SRI’s attention in 2016. Sources cited by local Adevarul said that they were husband and wife, and were studying Medicine in Cluj-Napoca.

SRI says that the two German citizens went through a rapid process of (self)radicalization, joining the Daesh terrorist ideology and thus showing a tendency towards violence. M.B. and N.R. carried out activities of propaganda and religious indoctrination with the aim of attracting coreligionists in Romania to the jihadist ideology.

Moreover, during their stay in Romania, the two planned to go to Syria to join the Daesh Caliphate. For these reasons, SRI considers that they represented a threat to national security.

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Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com