Germany deports first Afghans since Taliban govt took control

FRANKFURT, Germany: Germany said on Friday it had deported Afghans convicted of crimes back to their home country for the first time since Taliban authorities took power in 2021, as Berlin faces pressure to get tougher on migration.

The 28 Afghan nationals were all “convicted of serious crimes and had no right to remain in Germany”, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit told reporters.

A chartered flight bound for Kabul took off from Leipzig airport just before 0500 GMT, authorities said.

It comes exactly a week after a deadly knife attack allegedly committed by a Syrian man at a street festival in the western city of Solingen shocked Germany, with the Islamic State jihadist group claiming responsibility.

It also comes ahead of closely-watched regional elections in two eastern German states Sunday, where the far-right, anti-immigration AfD party is expected to make big gains.

The deportations were “necessary to ensure that trust in the rule of law continues to exist”, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said.

Germany did not have “direct contact with the Taliban or Afghanistan”, Faeser said, thanking unnamed partners for their diplomatic assistance.

The deportation flight was the result of two months of “secret negotiations” in which Qatar acted as the intermediary between Berlin and the Taliban authorities, Der Spiegel weekly reported.

Germany completely stopped deportations to Afghanistan and closed its embassy in Kabul after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.