Germany deported 31 Afghan nationals on a charter flight that departed Leipzig/Halle airport overnight on July 28, marking the first time a person without a criminal conviction has been returned to Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said 30 of the men were serious offenders convicted of homicides, rapes and violent crimes, while one had no criminal record but was subject to an enforceable departure order after his asylum case concluded. Eight of those deported were from Bavaria.
The removals proceeded under a direct agreement with the Taliban, after a planned collective deportation was cancelled in early June due to lack of Taliban cooperation. Eyewitnesses at Kabul airport reported families waiting for the returnees.
Since resuming Afghan deportations in 2024, Germany has returned more than 200 people. Amnesty International says at least one deportee was later killed.