Germany deports 28 Afghan nationals to their homeland, the first since the Taliban takeover in 2021

BERLIN (AP) — Germany deported Afghan nationals to their homeland on Friday for the first time since August 2021, when the Taliban returned to power.

Government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit described the 28 Afghan nationals as convicted criminals but did not clarify their offenses.

“The security interests of Germany clearly outweigh the claim for protection of criminals and individuals endangering national security,” Hebestreit said in a statement.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, speaking near Leipzig during a local election campaign event Friday, called it “a clear sign that those who commit crimes cannot count on us not deporting them, but that we will look for ways to do so.”

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser called the move a security issue for Germany.

Berlin does not have diplomatic relations with the Taliban, requiring the government to work through other channels. It’s unlikely that Friday’s actions will lead to a wider thawing of relations between Germany and the Taliban, especially after last week’s issuing of the first set of laws to prevent vice and promote virtue in Afghanistan. They include a requirement for a woman to conceal her face, body and voice outside the home.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has slammed the morality laws in posts on X.

While Hebestreit said the deportations have been in the works for months, they occurred a week after a deadly knife attack in the town of Solingen in which the suspect is a Syrian citizen who had applied for asylum in Germany.

The suspect was supposed to be deported to Bulgaria last year but reportedly disappeared for a time and avoided deportation. He was ordered to be held Sunday on suspicion of murder and membership of a terrorist organization pending