Germany deported 81 Afghans back to Afghanistan by plane on Friday, with Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt describing them as "serious and the most serious offenders," reported dpa.
The flight transporting the Afghans was only the second from Germany since the Taliban retook power in August 2021, and comes just months after a change of government in Berlin.
The Interior Ministry said that the Afghans were all required to leave the country and had been convicted of criminal offences.
The Qatar Airways plane took off from Leipzig at around 8:30 am (0630 GMT).
The deportations – also the first under the conservative-led government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz – took off on the same day that Dobrindt and several EU colleagues were due to meet to discuss a tightening of EU asylum policy.
Dobrindt told German broadcaster ARD that there was "a very legitimate interest of the citizens in such deportations."
The repatriation was organized with the help of Qatar and via "technical contacts" in Afghanistan, he said. The plane is flying directly to Afghanistan.
Dobrindt said that "contacts" with the Taliban are necessary to organize further such flights in the future. This did not rise to the level of "diplomatic relations," he said.
Germany has no formal diplomatic relations with the Islamist Taliban in Kabul and does not recognize it as a legitimate government.
The group is internationally isolated in particular because of its disregard for human rights and especially women's rights.
The United Nations refugee and human rights organizations have previously criticized Germany's deportation plans, saying that the conditions on the ground are not yet suitable for repatriations, and pointing to human rights abuses by the Taliban.
- Germany
- Deports
- Afghans
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
