Media: Germany sends new deportation flight to Kabul carrying convicted Afghans

The German government has reportedly carried out another charter deportation flight to Kabul, sending around 25 Afghan nationals convicted of serious crimes from Leipzig, according to Der Spiegel.

The Airbus A320, operated by Freebird, left shortly after midnight and was expected to transit via Türkiye before continuing to Afghanistan, where the deportees are to be handed over to Taliban authorities. German federal police accompanied the operation and are due to return on the same aircraft.

The group is said to consist entirely of convicted offenders, with cases ranging from theft and drug-related crimes to serious violent offences. It marks the third such collective deportation since the government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz took office.

The policy has been driven by Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, who has pursued a faster and more systematic return of Afghan offenders. The report says Germany has now established direct arrangements with the Taliban to facilitate regular deportations, a significant shift from earlier reliance on third countries for coordination.

Authorities have said the deportations target criminal offenders deemed a security risk, while Taliban assurances on the treatment of returnees cannot be independently verified by Berlin.

By Aghakazim Guliyev