For the first time since stopping the practice in 2021, Berlin has expelled 28 “convicted offenders” to the Taliban-ruled country
Germany has deported 28 Afghan nationals to their homeland, the first such act since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, after Berlin reversed its ban on deportations to countries it deems unsafe.
The move came in the wake of a stabbing attack at a street festival in the city of Solingen last week, in which three people were killed and eight others injured. Police arrested a 26-year-old Syrian over the incident, for which Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) reportedly claimed responsibility, without providing evidence.
The first group of 28 Afghans, who are all convicted criminals, were deported on a chartered Qatar Airways flight bound for Kabul on Friday, Spiegel magazine said, citing security sources.
“These were Afghan nationals, all of whom were convicted offenders who had no right to stay in Germany and against whom deportation orders had been issued,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit told the outlet.
The deportation operation was a result of two months of “secret negotiations” with mediator Qatar as Berlin has no diplomatic ties with the Taliban-led interim government in Afghanistan, according to the report. Hebestreit confirmed to the outlet that Germany had “asked key regional partners for support in order to facilitate the deportations,” without providing details.
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