Germany to Resume Mass Deportations of Afghan Asylum Seekers to Kabul

The German newspaper Tagesszeitung has reported that Germany plans to carry out a fresh flight on Tuesday to deport Afghan asylum seekers to Kabul, an operation that, according to the paper, will also include some people with no criminal record.

According to the report, the flight is scheduled to depart from Leipzig Airport at around 1 a.m. for Kabul. If the plan goes ahead, it will be the second mass deportation of Afghan asylum seekers to Afghanistan to include people without criminal records.

Tagesszeitung wrote that in recent days, a number of Afghan citizens have been taken to Taliban administration diplomats to obtain the documents required for deportation. The newspaper also reported that, at the same time, the rate of acceptance of protection applications from Afghan men has fallen.

Germany had previously, in July, deported a number of Afghan asylum seekers without criminal records to Afghanistan for the first time. Kabul has become one of the most contentious issues in Germany’s immigration policy since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.