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By Abby Young-Powell

Harsher measures should be taken against asylum seekers if they take a holiday in their country of origin, Chancellor Angela Merkel said in an interview Sunday, in which she also said she had no regrets over her open-door refugee policy.

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“Taking holidays in the country in which you are being persecuted is not on,” the German leader said in an interview with Welt am Sonntag, adding that it could be a reason to re-examine an asylum case.

While there is no official data on asylum seekers returning to their home countries on “holiday”, the issue has been the focus of media reports in Germany.

Photo by Wolfgang Kumm/dpa via AP

Newspaper Die Welt first reported last year that it had uncovered cases of recognised asylum seekers who travelled to countries such as Syria and Afghanistan for a short time. Martin Retsch, from the UN Refugee Agency, said the practice was not “widespread”. The issue is, however, indicative of the tensions that have built in Germany.