Getty Migrants from Syria and Afghanistan on the Austria-German border

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The three migrants were jailed for five to six months for supplying false information to Austrian authorities after lying about their age. The three men cheated the state out of more than €100,000, benefitting from health insurance, support, basic care, pocket money and German language courses. The case against the three was brought after a court ordered medical reports which revealed that the men were older than stated on documents supplied during their asylum application.

Two of the accused denied the accusation of having unlawfully obtained the social benefits, claiming their parents were to blame as they wrote down the dates of birth according to the Afghan calendar (the Solar Hijri calendar). This calendar, used only in Iran and Afghanistan, has six months of 31 days, then five months with 30 days each and finally one with 29 days, except in leap years where it has 30.

Migrants clash with police across Europe Wed, February 15, 2017 Migrants clash with each other in over crowded camps across Europe. Play slideshow EPA 1 of 107 Moroccan Police look at immigrants trying to jump the six-meter-high fence in Ceuta, Spanish enclave on the north of Africa, 09 December 2016.

The pair said they did not know their own birth dates. A lawyer for one of the two men said his mother was illiterate and could have easily made a mistake when giving his date of birth.

Getty Migrants wait at a train station in Austria

The third man admitted in court that he had lied about his age. He said: "People said it was better to apply as a minor as then I cannot be deported back. I was afraid that I would then be killed in Afghanistan like my father was." The judge did not believe that the first and second defendant were unaware of their real ages.

Getty Migrants from Syria and Afghanistan at a train station in Austria

She said: "They knowingly gave false information so they could stay in Austria." The three young men have been sentenced to five and six months in prison. In the first 10 months of 2016, 16,054 minors, of which 4,076 were unaccompanied, applied for asylum in Austria.

Getty Migrants on the Austrian-Germany border