The Interior Ministry said it was the first time Germany has deported a convicted criminal to Syria since the civil war began in 2011.
The man was handed over to Syrian authorities in Damascus on Tuesday morning.
Now why the deportation?
It comes after Berlin reached an agreement with the Syrian government to allow deportations of convicted criminals and security threats to take place on a regular basis.
The ministry said the deported man had served a prison sentence in North Rhine-Westphalia for particularly serious robbery, assault and extortion.
Earlier on Tuesday, another convicted criminal was deported to Afghanistan, following a similar expulsion last week.
Afghan national imprisoned in Bavaria for charges including intentional infliction of bodily harm. The ministry said it was the second deportation of an Afghan criminal within a week.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the Bavarian conservative Christian Social Union said the government was acting in the public interest. “Our society has a legitimate interest in criminals leaving our country,” he said. He said that the government is in favor of control, stability and clear results.
Human rights groups have been critical of Berlin’s efforts to deport migrants to Syria and Afghanistan, as both countries still suffer from instability and frequent reports of rights abuses.
However, the conservative-led government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz has prioritized resuming deportations to Syria since it ousted its former president Bashar Assad in December last year.
Edited by: Roshni Majumdar