Germany Deports 23 Afghans to Kabul on New Return Flight

The Kabul Tribune (KT)— Germany deported 23 Afghan men to Kabul on Tuesday on a charter flight from Leipzig/Halle Airport, German media reported, as Berlin expands its policy of returning Afghans to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

The Federal Police accompanied the 23 men on the flight to Kabul, according to reports by the German Press Agency, or dpa, and German media outlets. The government did not immediately provide further details about the operation.

The latest deportation follows a decision by German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt to broaden returns to Afghanistan beyond people convicted of crimes or considered security threats. Dobrindt said after a previous deportation flight in July that Germany would no longer limit returns to those categories and would also deport other Afghans who are legally required to leave the country.

Germany does not recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan’s legitimate government. However, Berlin has established limited arrangements with the de facto authorities to facilitate deportations. Germany began organizing charter flights to Afghanistan in 2024, initially focusing on Afghan nationals convicted of crimes.

The policy has drawn criticism from opposition politicians, human rights organizations and refugee advocates, who argue that Afghanistan remains unsafe for returnees under Taliban rule.

Human Rights Watch said last week that Afghanistan remains a country where people can face arbitrary detention, torture and other serious abuses, and urged governments not to send people back to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

Richard Bennett, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, has also repeatedly warned against deportations. In June, Bennett urged European Union countries not to return Afghans to Afghanistan, saying torture and other serious human rights violations remain a genuine risk under Taliban rule. He said the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits returning people to countries where they face persecution, torture or other serious harm, must be respected.

Bennett has also previously said that Afghanistan is not a safe country for returnees and warned that deported Afghans could face harassment, detention, torture, hunger and other serious threats.

The latest flight is part of a broader shift in Germany’s migration policy. In July, Germany deported 31 Afghans, including for the first time a person who had not been convicted of a crime. Dobrindt said at the time that future deportations would not be restricted exclusively to convicted criminals and people considered security threats.

The German government has defended the policy on the grounds that people who no longer have a legal right to remain in Germany should leave the country. Critics, however, say cooperation with Taliban authorities to facilitate deportations risks legitimizing a government that Berlin does not formally recognize and could expose returnees to serious human rights violations.

The latest deportation comes as European governments continue to debate how to handle Afghan migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected or who otherwise face removal, amid concerns over conditions in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.