22 AL-NASHIF v. BULGARIA JUDGMENT deportation economic and legal obstacles had prevented the establishment of a new family home in Syria or in Jordan. International organisations and governments had reported that the human rights situation in Syria was intolerable in particular for foreigners and stateless persons. 104. The applicants alleged that the interference with their family life had been based on legal provisions that lacked the clarity and foreseeability required by the concept of lawfulness as enshrined in the Convention and through arbitrary orders that had not stated any reasons. The Aliens Act authorised the Ministry of the Interior to deport persons who had never been convicted, or at least investigated, on the basis of orders issued without examination of evidence, without possibility of adversarial proceedings, and without giving reasons, while at the same time issuing press releases labelling the individual “a threat to national security”. 105. The interference was furthermore disproportionate and unjustified. There was no need to deport the first applicant as he had never committed an offence. Mr Al-Nashif had never engaged in any unlawful or dangerous activity. His religious teaching had by no means posed a threat. Furthermore, the authorities' decisions were flawed as a matter of principle as they had never assessed the balance which needed to be drawn between the aims pursued by the deportation and the applicants' right to respect for their family life, including - as important factors - the interests of the children, the second and the third applicants, and the fact that the first applicant was a stateless person. The applicants finally reiterated that the interference with their family life had caused them serious hardship. 2. The Government a) The disputed facts 106. The Government made a number of allegations concerning the first applicant's religious activities and submitted as evidence statements of Ms M., an Information Note issued by the National Security Service, cuttings from newspaper articles and other documents (see paragraphs 49-65 above). They did not comment on the applicants' objections as to the reliability of that evidence. b) Legal arguments 107. The Government considered that there was no family life within the meaning of Article 8 of the Convention between the first applicant and Mrs Saleh and their children as Mr Al-Nashif had not proven that he had been legally married to Mrs Saleh and had often been away from the family home as he had contracted a second marriage. Those facts were allegedly