Overview
- An appeal drafted in a chat group of about 600 applicants was sent Saturday evening via Bundestag liaison offices to Chancellor Friedrich Merz and several ministries.
- The signatories write that they fled Taliban rule to survive, stressing, "We cannot go back" and warning that return could end in brutal violence.
- They reject Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt’s proposal to forgo admission in exchange for money, with reporting that around 700 people deemed to have the weakest cases were recently offered several thousand euros.
- Those waiting include former local staff of the Bundeswehr and other German institutions, as well as people involved in democratic state-building who fear persecution by the Taliban.
- Opposition criticism intensified, with Green lawmaker Marcel Emmerich urging a rapid resolution and accusing the government of disregarding its commitments.