Berlin said it had on Friday deported 81 Afghan men convicted of crimes in Germany in the second such operation to their Taliban-controlled homeland.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the plane carrying the men had just taken off and added that they were all under expulsion orders and were convicted by the criminal justice system.
Germany stopped deportations to Afghanistan and closed its embassy in Kabul following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
Berlin has had only indirect contact with the Taliban authorities through third parties.
A debate over resuming expulsions has flared as migration becomes a key issue amid the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
The previous government of Social Democrat chancellor Olaf Scholz expelled a group of 28 Afghans convicted of crimes on August 30, 2024, marking the first such action since the Taliban’s return to power.
Friday’s operation was carried out with the help of Qatar, the German interior ministry said, adding that such expulsions “must be able to continue in the future.”
