Overview
- Authorities said the charter from Leipzig to Kabul was the first carried out under a direct agreement with the Taliban without third‑state mediation.
- All deportees were men convicted in Germany of offenses including sexual crimes, bodily harm and drug offenses, including a 22‑year‑old tied to the 2019 Illerkirchberg rape case.
- Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the arrangement provides a reliable basis for regular returns and that deportations will be expanded step by step.
- UN human‑rights chief Volker Türk urged states to avoid returns to Afghanistan and called the country a “graveyard of human rights,” echoing warnings from NGOs such as Pro Asyl.
- Observers raised concerns about legitimizing engagement with the Taliban, noting reports that the group recently took over a consular facility in Bonn with access to sensitive data.