An expulsion flight to Afghanistan took off from Germany’s Leipzig-Halle airport on Friday, according to verified reports from Saxony’s Interior Ministry.
The Qatar Airways flight, carrying at least 28 Afghan offenders, left Leipzig for Kabul at about 6:56 a.m. This marked Germany’s first such expulsion since the Taliban’s ascension to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
Germany maintains no diplomatic relations with the Taliban-led Afghan government. Following a fatal knife attack by an Afghan national in Mannheim in May, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the resumption of deportations of dangerous criminals and terrorists to Afghanistan and Syria.
Deportation targets individuals guilty of severe crimes or posing a significant terror threat. Once convicted, future deportees must serve a substantial part of their sentences in Germany before expulsion.
The German government passed legislation in late June to facilitate the expulsion of foreigners promoting terrorism, including those doing so through social media platforms.
On Thursday, the government also pledged to tighten laws concerning benefits for some asylum seekers, following another knife attack that occurred on Friday in Solingen, killing three people and injuring eight others.
