KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The German government has approved a draft law allowing the deportation of individuals who express support for terrorism.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced the measure, emphasizing a crackdown on Islamist and anti-Semitic hate crimes.
The draft law would allow deportation without a criminal conviction if an individual is deemed to have approved of a terrorist act, including “liking” or otherwise positively reacting to such content. The law requires approval from the German parliament, but officials expect passage after the summer break.
The move comes in the wake of two recent deadly knife attacks by Afghan immigrants in Germany. The first attack took place in Mannheim city on May 31, when a young man originally from Afghanistan attacked a group opposed to “political Islam,” resulting in injuries to seven people, including a police officer. the police officer later succumbed to his injuries.
Earlier this month, German police arrested another young Afghan immigrant for allegedly attacking and injuring a Ukrainian woman with a knife in Frankfurt.
Previously, reports indicated that Germany has initiated confidential talks with third countries to explore deporting Afghans who have committed serious crimes back to Afghanistan without direct engagement with the Taliban.
While the German official has not disclosed the countries involved in negotiations, the German magazine Der Spiegel reported that discussions are underway with Uzbekistan.
“A delegation from the interior ministry travelled to the Uzbek capital Tashkent in late May for this purpose,” the magazine reported.
“The delegation suggested to the Uzbek government that Afghan deportation candidates should be brought to Tashkent. From there they could be transported to Kabul via private airline Kam Air,” it added.