Deportations to Afghanistan: Leipzig's flying returnee plane!

Deportations to Afghanistan: Leipzig's flying returnee plane!

Deportations to Afghanistan are gaining momentum. Today, on July 18, 2025, Germany started another collective deportation flight with 81 people from Leipzig, which is the second of its kind since the Taliban came to power in August 2021. The passengers are legally required to leave the country and have committed criminal offenses in the past. These deportations are part of the new discussion about asylum policy in Germany, which has flared up under pressure from coalition partners and the public. NWZonline reports that the flight, operated by Qatar Airways, took off around 8:30 a.m.

The deportees were taken to the airport in several buses, with at least one of the passengers wearing an ankle bracelet. Interestingly, the deportation flight took place shortly before a meeting between Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and his EU colleagues to tighten European asylum policy. This attempted to clarify the debates about the security situation in Afghanistan and the repatriation of Afghan citizens.

Rumors of talks with the Taliban

The human and security conditions in Afghanistan remain a hotly debated issue. As the Time UN Human Rights Commissioners are calling for these deportations to stop. Volker Türk, the UN human rights commissioner, says it is completely inappropriate to return people to such a precarious security situation. While there is discussion about holding direct talks with the Taliban, there are concerns that this could be interpreted as recognition of the Taliban regime.

Federal Interior Minister Dobrindt plans to seek such discussions - a strategy he considers necessary to make returns more effective. While his intentions find support in the coalition, which is supported by the SPD, the situation remains tense. Sebastian Fiedler, domestic policy spokesman for the SPD, is supportive, but points out that direct relationships with the Taliban should be avoided. The federal government has also made it clear that it does not recognize the Taliban as a legitimate government, but such talks could be interpreted as “technical contact opportunities,” as a government spokesman emphasized.

Challenges in repatriation

However, the practical implementation of these deportations is anything but easy. Due to a security environment in Afghanistan that is often criticized as inadequate and the fact that the German embassy in Kabul has been closed since the change of power, the repatriation of Afghan citizens represents a significant challenge. According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, a total of around 11,500 Afghans are required to leave the country, which increases the complexity of the process in view of the heavily criticized conditions in Afghanistan. Tagesschau reports that More than 1,100 deportations to Afghanistan have been carried out since 2016.

With current developments, there is a lot at stake for a permanent solution. The criticism and humanitarian concerns expressed from many quarters could continue to cause deportation policy in Germany to tremble.