The Daily Populous Saturday August 31st, 2024 day edition
Authored by dw.com and submitted by donutloop

A flight has taken off from an airport in eastern Germany deporting individuals to Afghanistan. It is the first deportation of Afghans since the Taliban took power in Kabul in 2021.

A deportation flight to Afghanistan has left Germany's Leipzig/Halle Airport, the Interior Ministry for the state of Saxony said on Friday.

It is the first deportation of Afghans back to their home country since the Taliban took power in Kabul in August 2021.

"These were Afghan nationals, all of whom were convicted offenders who had no right to stay in Germany and against whom deportation orders had been issued," government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in a statement.

A Qatar Airways charter jet carrying 28 Afghan offenders brought from various German states left Leipzig, the biggest city in the eastern state of Saxony, for Kabul at 6:56 am (0456 GMT).

Germany's federal Interior Ministry organized the operation.

Germany resumes deportation of asylum-seekers to Afghanistan To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Months of negotiations prior to deportation

The German government said in a statement that it thanked "key regional partners" for their support. It added that more such deportations were in the works.

According to the German news magazine Der Spiegel, the deportation flight was the result of two months of secret negotiations with mediator Qatar.

Germany does not have any diplomatic relations with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Negotiating directly with the Taliban, some of whose officials are under international sanctions, is widely seen as problematic.

Berlin had stopped returning people to Afghanistan due to human rights concerns after the Taliban takeover in 2021.

Germany debates migration after Solingen attack To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

A political debate over asylum and deportation rules has been brewing in Germany ahead of state elections.

Thuringia and Saxony, two eastern German states where the anti-immigrant AfD party is leading in the polls, are holding elections on Sunday.

In the wake of the deadly knife attack in Mannheim at the end of May, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that the deportation of the most dangerous criminals and terror suspects to Afghanistan and Syria would be possible again.

The discussion has grown increasingly heated after three people were killed and eight wounded in the attack which took place during a festival marking Solingen's 650 years. The suspect is a failed asylum seeker from Syria.

disc_jockey77 on August 31st, 2024 at 06:46 UTC »

I'm not German or European. But I don't understand why there needs to be a debate on this topic?! If asylum seekers or even those granted asylum are convicted of committing a crime in Germany, they need to be deported. There should be no debate on this topic.

HotSteak on August 31st, 2024 at 05:29 UTC »

Both the Mannerheim and Solingen mass stabbings were done by men that had applied for asylum, been denied, and then just never left.

donutloop on August 31st, 2024 at 05:19 UTC »

Submission Statement

The recent deportation flight from Germany to Afghanistan marks a significant and controversial development in European immigration policy. Organized by Germany's federal Interior Ministry, the flight departed from Leipzig/Halle Airport, carrying 28 Afghan nationals who were convicted offenders with no legal right to remain in Germany. This event is notable as it represents the first deportation of Afghans since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.

The operation followed months of secret negotiations, facilitated by Qatar, due to the lack of formal diplomatic relations between Germany and the Taliban regime. This decision comes amid a heated political debate in Germany regarding asylum and deportation policies, especially as state elections approach in Thuringia and Saxony, where anti-immigrant sentiments are particularly strong.

The resumption of deportations to Afghanistan reflects the German government's stance on prioritizing the removal of individuals deemed dangerous or criminal, despite ongoing human rights concerns under the Taliban's rule. This move, however, is likely to fuel further debate and scrutiny both within Germany and internationally regarding the balance between national security and human rights obligations.