KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Germany has deported a group of 22 Afghan asylum seekers with criminal records to Kabul, German media outlet Deutsche Welle reported.
Germany’s Interior Ministry announced the deportations on Tuesday, September 1, saying the individuals were transferred to the Afghan capital on a charter flight.
A spokesperson for the ministry said the deportees had committed crimes in Germany including murder, attempted intentional homicide, robbery, professional theft, extortion involving force, grievous bodily harm and arson.
The latest deportation follows the previous developments highlighting Germany’s growing engagement with the Taliban over the return of Afghan nationals. Germany has carried out several deportation flights involving Afghan nationals convicted of crimes. The previous deportation flight took place a week ago.
On August 25, German media reported that around 30 Afghans were deported to Kabul on a charter flight from Leipzig Airport, including several migrants who reportedly had no criminal records and were forcibly returned.
Days later, on August 29, German media reported that a three-member Taliban delegation had traveled to Germany without a public announcement after obtaining 30-day visas from the German diplomatic mission in Qatar. The delegation, which is reportedly staying at the Afghan Embassy in Berlin, is expected to visit Bonn and Munich, where Afghan consulates are located.
The developments come as Germany expands deportations to Afghanistan while maintaining that its contacts with the Taliban remain at a “technical level” and do not constitute recognition of the group as Afghanistan’s government.
Germany suspended direct deportations to Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power in 2021 and Berlin shut down its embassy in Kabul. Limited deportations of Afghan nationals convicted of crimes resumed in 2024 under former Chancellor Olaf Scholz, with those removals conducted through third countries.
Since taking office in May 2025, the current German government has made the deportation of foreign nationals convicted of crimes a key priority. German officials have held talks with Taliban representatives in Qatar and Kabul to establish regular direct deportation flights.
Germany has now deported around 250 Afghan nationals to Afghanistan, most of whom had criminal records, according to the report.
The move comes amid broader efforts across parts of the European Union to increase deportations of rejected asylum seekers and foreign nationals convicted of crimes. On June 23, the EU hosted a Taliban delegation in Brussels to discuss practical arrangements, including potential cooperation on deportation procedures.
The latest visit therefore marks another step in Germany’s increasingly pragmatic engagement with the Taliban. While Berlin continues to insist that it does not recognize the Taliban government, cooperation on deportations has led to growing contacts between German authorities and Taliban representatives inside Germany.
