A stabbing incident took place in Mannheim. - The reason behind Afghanistan not being deported.
A violent knife attack against a law enforcement officer in Mannheim has reignited a discussion about whether the government should embrace harsher measures, such as allowing deportations to unstable countries. Numerous politicians, including the Interior Minister, Faeser from SPD, are considering this, as they are examining the issue thoroughly. However, this is not a straightforward matter.
On a Friday, a 25-year-old Afghan individual suddenly brandished a knife at an anti-Islam gathering at the Mannheim market square, injuring six men, among them a young police officer. Sadly, the officer passed away due to his injuries. Security forces had not previously marked the suspect as a lawbreaker or extremist. The Federal Prosecutor's Office is currently probing the case, suspecting "religious motivation" to be behind the slashing.
The suspect hailed from the Afghan region of Herat, and came to Germany in 2013 as a teenager. His asylum application was denied in 2014. Notwithstanding this, deportation didn't occur, as a deportation ban was instituted - possibly due to his age. Since 2023, he has held a temporary residence permit under Paragraph 28 of the Residence Act, meaning he obtained refugee status.
This circumstance complicates deportation, even if the perpetrator is convicted. As of 2021, deportations to Afghanistan were put on pause - as a repercussion to the Taliban's takeover of power. In 2023, the Interior Minister, Horst Seehofer of the CSU, explained, "A rule-of-law state must also ensure that deportations don't jeopardize those involved."
Last year in December, the Interior Ministers' Conference (IMK) - a gathering of Interior Ministers and Senators from all federal states - requested the BMI to look into how serious criminals and threats could be sent back to their origin countries, such as Afghanistan and Syria.
"Valid reason" to reject deportation to Afghanistan
Hamburg's Interior Senator, Andy Grote from the SPD, intensified the drive for harsher immigration policies. On Monday, he submitted a resolution proposal for the Interior Ministers' Conference, scheduled for June 19th. The name of the proposal, disclosed by multiple media outlets, foretells Grote's stance: "Deportations of individuals threatening public safety - even to Afghanistan and Syria."
Grote's initiative insists that heavily criminal foreigners can be deported back to their home nations, regardless of their home country's security status. To achieve this, the Foreign Office must reassess the security scenario in Afghanistan and Syria, thereby enabling existing international transport links to be used for deportations. Additionally, he was supported by Dirk Wiese, deputy SPD parliamentary group leader, who stated, "After a temporary deportation stop, the Foreign Office now needs to pave the way for future deportations to Afghanistan again."
Nonetheless, it's uncertain if Foreign Minister Baerbock's assessment could change. "Germany should not deport to Afghanistan," Baerbock stated a year ago. "The country has tragically reverted to the Stone Age with the terrifying rule of the Taliban." Explaining Afghanistan's situation, she also argued that Syria remains under the rule of the brutal dictator, Assad.
Moreover, Omid Nouripour, co-chair of the Greens, cautioned against deportations to Afghanistan on Monday. "Forging deals with Afghanistan means paying a cost," he said in Berlin. This was illustrated by recent deals, which demonstrated that giving money to the Taliban only reinforces the Islamic faction and delivers no solution.
In response, Interior Minister Faeser stated at a press briefing in Berlin on Tuesday, focusing primarily on the security measures for the upcoming European Football Championship. He set the date much earlier. "The offender must face the full weight of the law," confirmed Faeser. "The rule of law takes the Islamic threat very seriously," he added, specifying that authorities are keeping track of the dangerous scene.
In addition, Interior Minister Faeser has been scrutinizing deportations of serious criminals and threats in Afghanistan for months. Faeser stressed, "A decision should be made swiftly, yet it must be 'legally binding'." Nevertheless, the legal obstacles are significant, as the Parliamentary Research Service of the Bundestag recently noticed in a status report (April 2024). Generally, deportations are infeasible due to the political conditions in Afghanistan and Syria, as well as the present legal framework.
