Germany: Liberal and conservative politicians call for resuming deportations to Afghanistan

Members of two German political parties have called for the resumption of deportations of convicted criminals to Afghanistan. The development follows a recent debate about designated “safe countries of origin.”

Representatives of Germany’s governing liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the opposition Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) are calling for the resumption of deportations to Afghanistan.

“Anyone who has been legally convicted of having committed a crime as a foreigner and who has been classified as a dangerous person must leave Germany,” Stephan Thomae, director of the FDP parliamentary group in the German Parliament, was quoted as saying by newspapers of the Bavaria media group on Friday (September 1).

Thomae also emphasized the need to individually assess whether Afghanistan is unsafe for “Islamist, jihadist, or Salafist criminals and endangerers,” referring to the deportations of about 650 Afghans from Germany in the first half of the year.

Alexander Throm, the spokesman for domestic policy of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, called for a deportation option to Afghanistan for serious offenders and dangerous individuals, according to the same newspapers.

“Such repatriations are in our security interests,” Throm said, citing Turkey as a model for deportations to Afghanistan. “The airport in Kabul is open. So repatriations to Afghanistan are possible in principle,” the Christian democrat said.

Criticism from social democrats
SPD parliamentary group deputy Dirk Wiese meanwhile warned that such proposals must be feasible.

Rejected asylum seekers who commit serious crimes in Germany have “forfeited their right to stay,” Wiese told the newspapers. However, the security situation in the destination country must be conducive to returning people there, he said.

“We cannot send people back where their lives are at risk,” Wiese added.

The German government first considered resuming deportations of Afghans who commit crimes or pose a threat to society in March of this year. Deportations had been suspended following the Taliban takeover in August 2021.