Germany’s Deportation of an Afghan Without Criminal Record Sets a New Precedent — The Diplomat

In August 2024, Germany became the first European country to deport Afghan nationals to Afghanistan since the Taliban’s takeover. The deportation process was facilitated by Qatar. This happened after Germany’s “Traffic Light Coalition” government decided to change the rules to deport foreign nationals found guilty of serious crimes, a policy shift motivated by a deadly knife attack on a police officer in Mannheim. At the time, Germany’s then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany would not tolerate religious extremists or criminals who exploit the country’s laws protecting refugees. He added, “Such criminals should be deported even if they come from Syria and Afghanistan. Serious criminals and terrorists have no place here. In such cases the security interests of Germany outweigh the perpetrator’s interests in protection.” In the first deportation, 28 Afghan nationals with criminal records were deported to Afghanistan. Since then Germany has expedited its deportation process – and expanded the scope beyond “criminals and terrorists.” Last week, Germany deported an Afghan national without a criminal record for the first time since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. The Afghan national had attempted to settle in another European country but was found to be illegally living there. He was transferred back to Germany and deported to Afghanistan by plane with 30 other deportees; all of the other deportees had criminal…