Foreign Minister Baerbock issued the following statement today (4 June) on the discussion concerning deportations to Afghanistan:

“Naturally, it is in our interest to ensure that perpetrators who have committed serious crimes are repatriated as quickly as possible. That is why we have already tightened the rules.”

“The Ministry of the Interior has been examining this specific case for some time now. This is anything but a trivial matter, for key rule-of-law and above all security issues have to be considered.”

“How can we cooperate with an Islamist terror regime with which we do not have any relations at all? And how can we prevent the next terrorist attack subsequently being planned from there?”

“Just like our European partners, we do not have an Embassy in the country which could oversee the repatriations. Seehofer himself halted the practice of Federal Police officers escorting deportees because the officers’ safety was at risk under these conditions.”

“Not least, we owe it to the victims to ensure that the perpetrators serve their punishment in prison and that murderers are not released into freedom in Afghanistan.”