Germany resumed flying convicted Afghan criminals to their home country on Friday, as Berlin reversed its policy on deportations to the Taliban-run nation.
Der Spiegel reported that a flight from Leipzig to Kabul took off on Friday morning with 28 convicted criminals aboard after months of secret negotiations mediated by Qatar.
Government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit described the deportees as convicted criminals, but as yet hasn’t clarified their offenses.
Berlin thanked “key regional partners” for their support in a statement and said that similar deportations were in the pipeline
Olaf Scholz’s coalition government came under pressure to take a tougher stance on migration following an ISIS-linked mass stabbing at a “Festival of Diversity” in Solingen a week ago, which left three people dead and eight others wounded, and an Afghan man knifing a German policeman to death in Mannheim in June.
The suspect in the Solingen attack, named as Issa Al H. in line with German privacy laws, is a Syrian national who was supposed to be deported to Bulgaria last year but reportedly disappeared for a time and avoided deportation.
He is being held on suspicion of murder and membership in a terrorist organization, pending further investigation and a possible indictment.
Germany halted repatriating Afghans on human rights grounds after the Taliban retook power in 2021 following the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from the country.
Berlin said in June it was considering deporting Afghan migrants who pose a security threat, following the police officer’s killing in the city of Mannheim.
Negotiating directly with the Taliban, some of whose officials are under international sanctions, is widely seen as problematic.
There has also been debate over immigration ahead of regional elections taking place on Sunday in Saxony and Thuringia.
The anti-immigration Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party is expected to do well in those eastern regions, with Scholz’s coalition government braced for substantial losses.
A strong showing for AfD would give the right-wing party a huge boost a year before the next national election.
In a bid to curb losses at those elections, Scholz’s government has announced tighter asylum and residency laws and procedures, including lowering the threshold for “severe deportation,” when the deportee has committed a crime involving a weapon or dangerous tool.
Criteria for excluding individuals from asylum or refugee status will be restricted and include harsher penalties for serious crimes, including for young offenders.
Asylum seekers will be excluded from receiving benefits if they have claims in other European countries and refugees who travel to their home countries without compelling reasons will risk losing their protection status, according to documents released this week.
Berlin will also push for reforms to the Common European Asylum System, simplifying transfers and deportations, the government said.
The same package also introduced stricter gun regulations, including tighter ownership rules, a general ban on switchblades, and an absolute ban on knives at public events such as folk festivals, sporting events, and trade fairs.
Federal law officers will be authorized to use Tasers, and background checks for weapon permits will include new federal agencies to prevent extremists from obtaining weapons.
Further measures to combat “violent Islamism” were also announced, including giving law enforcement permission to use biometric data from publicly accessible online sources for facial recognition to identify suspects.
The government will strengthen the domestic intelligence agency’s powers when it comes to financial investigations and continue to ban Islamist organizations, according to a government document outlining the measures.
