Germany's Afghan deportations spark election controversy
Germany plans to deport another group of convicted criminals and dangerous individuals to Afghanistan in the near future, happening just before the parliamentary elections.
At the end of August last year, Germany deported 28 people to Afghanistan for the first time since the Taliban took control of the country. Another deportation is anticipated soon, as announced by the Ministry of the Interior, confirming reports from the newspaper "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" (SZ). Germany will deport individuals convicted of crimes and those deemed dangerous.
According to the "SZ", the German Ministry of the Interior is already arranging a second deportation flight to Afghanistan. The newspaper refers to a letter from the ministry to the Bavarian authorities stating that "within the next six weeks (by 22 February 2025)," at least one person will be deported.
Deportations just before the elections
This means that the plane carrying deported Afghans will leave Germany shortly before the parliamentary elections, which are set for 23 February. This could raise suspicions that the move is aimed at boosting the ratings of the ruling parties directly before the elections.
Migration policy is indeed the main topic of the election campaign—particularly after the recent knife attack in Aschaffenburg, in which two people died, including a two-year-old child. The perpetrator is a 28-year-old man from Afghanistan who should have been deported from Germany. Following the attack, he was placed in a psychiatric facility.
The Ministry of the Interior in Berlin has rejected any claims suggesting a connection between the timing of planned deportations and the date of the parliamentary elections. According to a spokesperson for the ministry, actions related to deportations to Afghanistan are entirely unrelated to the specified date, as reported by the media.
The spokesman clarified that deportations are conducted only when all legal, factual, and logistical requirements are fulfilled. In particular, in the case of Afghanistan, it depends on many external factors, such as cooperation with third countries, flight permits, and other circumstances.
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