• Amnesty International criticizes Germany's expanded deportations to Afghanistan, no longer restricted to criminals or security threats.
• Federal Police information from Hesse's Interior Ministry reveals that Afghan nationals are being deported to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan without previous restrictions.
• Amnesty International warns that deportations to Afghanistan violate human rights and international law, putting individuals at risk of arrest, torture, or danger.

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."

Under the Residence Act, foreign nationals are to be deported "if they are subject to an enforceable obligation to leave, no departure deadline is granted or such a deadline has expired, and no individual bar to deportation exists." The states are responsible for enforcing residence law and make decisions on a case-by-case basis.

Amnesty International criticized the policy in principle on Thursday. "Deportations to Afghanistan are in contradiction to Germany's obligations under human rights and international law," said Amnesty asylum expert Nina Alizadeh Marandi. She said that by cooperating with the Taliban, German policy was making itself open to blackmail.

German authorities present individuals to official Afghan representatives ahead of deportations when identities need to be established or travel documents are required, the expert said.

Amnesty pointed to 46-year-old Afghan national Faridoon Tofan, who could become a test case for deportations without a criminal background. Tofan came to Germany as an asylum seeker in 2022 and was working there, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported. After his asylum application was rejected, he reportedly retained a temporary residence permit.

A trip to Italy in mid-April caused him to inadvertently violate the conditions of that permit, according to the report, and he was taken into deportation detention upon re-entering Germany.

According to Amnesty International, the man is due to be deported to Afghanistan next week on a charter flight - a step the organization described as unprecedented. "This deportation could mean arrest, torture or even mortal danger for him," Marandi said.

Amnesty International said at least five other Afghan nationals who have not committed any crimes are also being held in deportation detention.