• Amnesty International criticizes Germany's expanded deportations to Afghanistan, no longer restricted to convicted criminals or security threats.
• Hesse's Interior Ministry shared Federal Police information indicating removals to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan are now possible for all Afghan nationals required to leave.
• Federal Interior Ministry confirms 173 male Afghan nationals have been deported during the current legislative period, all having previous criminal justice system involvement.

Amnesty International has sharply criticized Germany's expansion of deportations to Afghanistan, after the state of Hesse shared information from the Federal Police indicating that removals to the Islamist Taliban-ruled country are no longer restricted to convicted criminals or security threats.

The criticism comes after Hesse's Interior Ministry issued a decree sharing Federal Police information from early July stating "that the previously existing restrictions on presenting Afghan nationals for identification - criminals and security threats - have been lifted."

State Interior Minister Roman Poseck said the federal government had created the conditions "for regular deportations of those required to leave to Afghanistan to be possible in future."

According to the Federal Interior Ministry, 173 male Afghan nationals have been returned to Afghanistan during the current legislative period. All had previously come to the attention of the criminal justice system, a ministry spokeswoman confirmed.

The Taliban retook power in Afghanistan in 2021. Deportations there have been taking place again since 2024. The 2025 coalition agreement states: "We will deport to Afghanistan and Syria - beginning with criminals and security threats."

The federal government's focus had accordingly been on the return of criminals, the Interior Ministry spokeswoman explained. However, she added: "Neither current law nor the coalition agreement provides for a restriction to criminals."