Germany's pre‑election deportations raise political questions

At the end of August last year, Germany deported 28 people to Afghanistan for the first time since the Taliban's takeover. Another deportation is anticipated soon, as confirmed by the Ministry of the Interior, following reports from the newspaper "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" (SZ). The individuals being deported from Germany are those convicted of crimes and individuals deemed dangerous.

According to "SZ," the German Ministry of the Interior is already organizing the second deportation flight to Afghanistan. The newspaper cites a letter from the ministry to the authorities of Bavaria, stating that "within the next six weeks (by February 22, 2025)," at least one person will be deported.

This indicates that the plane carrying deported Afghans will leave Germany shortly before the parliamentary elections, scheduled for February 23. This could lead to suspicions that this action is partly to boost the ruling parties' ratings just before the elections.

Migration policy is, after all, the main topic of the election campaign – especially after the recent knife attack in Aschaffenburg, where two people died, including a two-year-old child. The perpetrator is a 28-year-old man from Afghanistan who should have been deported from Germany. After the attack, he was placed in a psychiatric facility.

The Ministry of the Interior in Berlin rejects any claims suggesting a link between the timing of planned deportations and the parliamentary elections. According to media reports, a spokesperson clarified that the upcoming deportations to Afghanistan are entirely unrelated to the specified date.

The spokesperson explained that deportations are carried out as soon as all legal, factual, and logistical requirements are met. Particularly with Afghanistan, it depends on many external factors, such as cooperation with third countries, flight permissions, and other circumstances.