Faeser seeks swift action on expulsions to Afghanistan.
After a knife attack in Mannheim, politicians from various parties demanded the resumption of deportations to Afghanistan. These had been halted when the Taliban took over the country in 2021.
In the Mannheim incident, a 25-year-old Afghan man allegedly attacked members of the anti-Islam group Pax Europa with a knife. A police officer was severely injured and died two days later. The suspect had been living in Germany since 2014 and had his asylum application rejected at the time. He later received a temporary residence permit.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser stated that individuals who may pose a threat to Germany's security should be quickly deported. However, in this case, the alleged perpetrator was not legally deportable.
SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich backed Hamburg's Interior Senator Andy Grote's (SPD) initiative to deport heavily criminal foreigners from Afghanistan and Syria to their home countries, but acknowledged the difficult circumstances surrounding negotiations with the Taliban.
FDP parliamentary group leader, Christian Dür, emphasized the need for action rather than just sympathies. He emphasized that those who promoted Islamism in Germany should be deportable to countries like Afghanistan.
Greens parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge stated that Germany would not deport to countries where people's lives are threatened. She added that negotiations with the Taliban would be necessary to deport criminals from Afghanistan.
Kaddor, the Greens spokesperson for internal affairs, indicated that deporting criminals to Afghanistan might not result in punishment in a country with an Islamic regime. She found the idea incomprehensible and regarded it as a false signal.
Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz (CDU) called for finding ways to deport deportable asylum seekers from Germany to countries like Afghanistan and Syria. He also called for a stricter fight against Islamism. The Union plans to submit a proposal this week. The closure of the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH) will also be included in this demand.
AfD co-leader Alice Weidel called the attack "a beacon" and demanded a turnaround in German immigration policies.
Both the German Police Union (DPolG) and the Police Union (GdP) requested a silent march for the fallen police officer in Berlin on Friday, saying that the incident "cannot simply be forgotten." Stephan Weh, the Berlin GdP state chairman, asserted that "politics and society as a whole must recognize the risks that police officers face daily in their pursuit of maintaining our security and the well-being of our citizens."
