Overview

• On July 18, the German Interior Ministry confirmed a Qatar Airways flight carried 81 Afghan men convicted of crimes from Leipzig back to Afghanistan.
• Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the operation fulfils a key coalition agreement pledge under Chancellor Friedrich Merz to expel serious criminal offenders.
• Germany relied on Qatar as a mediator with Taliban authorities to arrange the flight in the absence of direct diplomatic ties with Kabul.
• At a Zugspitze summit, Dobrindt and five European counterparts agreed on goals to tighten asylum rules and standardize deportations to Afghanistan and Syria.
• The UN human rights office and Amnesty International criticized the returns, warning of risks of torture, arbitrary detention and extrajudicial executions for those sent back.