Austria has announced its cooperation with Germany to begin deporting Afghan nationals convicted of crimes back to Afghanistan.
Germany deported 28 convicted criminals to Afghanistan on Friday, marking the first such deportations since August 2021, according to Reuters.
Vienna stated its intention to collaborate closely with Berlin on joint deportation efforts.
Chancellor Karl Nehammer remarked, “The Interior Minister has been in lengthy negotiations with his German counterpart on how to address deportation challenges to Afghanistan. Austria is currently deporting Afghans and Syrians. Our next goal is direct deportations to Afghanistan or Syria.”
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner praised Germany’s decision as “very positive.”
Earlier in March, he emphasized the need for discussions to potentially reassess the EU-wide ban on deportations to Afghanistan and Syria as “essential and urgent.”
Karner added, “Under current EU law, we are unable to repatriate individuals to countries like Syria or Afghanistan.”
In Austria, these two nations account for approximately three-quarters of all asylum applications.
According to Austria’s Interior Minister, close cooperation with regional partners is crucial to repatriate people to Kabul or Afghanistan directly.
Recently, the German government announced the deportation of 28 Afghan refugees with criminal records back to Afghanistan via airplane.
Previously, amid rising violence and armed attacks in Germany, authorities have emphasized the deportation of Afghan and Syrian refugees.
Germany’s actions have sparked criticism from international human rights organizations.
Recently, Amnesty International condemned the deportation of Afghan migrants from Germany, stating that the asylum policy pursued by this government during election campaigns is a political show that violates international laws.
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