Germany says on Friday it had deported 81 Afghan men convicted of crimes to their Taliban-controlled homeland, as Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government looks to signal a hard line on immigration.
The interior ministry said a plane carrying the men took off Friday morning bound for Afghanistan, adding that all the deportees were under expulsion orders and were convicted by the criminal justice system.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, revealed that the government of Europe's top economy was forging ahead with a policy change, ahead of a migration meeting that would have several European counterparts attend.
Dobrindt stressed that there is no right of residence for serious criminals in our country, noting that deportations to Afghanistan must continue to be carried out safely in the future.
The German interior ministry stated that Berlin has had only indirect contact with the Taliban authorities through third parties, with the recent operation executed with the help of Qatar.
Recall that Germany had stopped deportations to Afghanistan and closed its embassy in Kabul following the Taliban's return to power in 2021.
Meanwhile, expulsions resumed last year for the first time since the Taliban came to power, when the previous government of Social Democrat chancellor Olaf Scholz expelled a group of 28 Afghans convicted of crimes.