Afghan deported from Germany kills self on return home

BERLIN: One of 69 Afghans deported from Germany last week committed suicide on his return home, Berlin authorities said on Wednesday, prompting calls for Interior Minister Horst Seehofer to resign. The man was sent back as Seehofer was waging a battle within Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition for tighter immigration controls. On Tuesday, Seehoffer had welcomed the deportations and noted that the 69 Afghans had left on his 69th birthday. A day later an interior ministry official told journalists: “We received confirmation from the Afghan authorities this morning that one of passengers on the repatriation flight was found dead in accommodation in Kabul.”

According to the Afghan authorities, it was a suicide,” the official added. There was no immediate comment from Seehofer. The Pro Asyl refugee rights organization said the failed asylum seeker, 23, had lived in Germany for eight years and was a minor when he came to Germany.