Vienna has deported a convicted Afghan criminal to Kabul, the first such deportation from Austria since the Taliban returned to power in the war-ravaged country in 2021.
Austria’s Chancellor Christian Stocker confirmed the deportation on Tuesday morning, writing on X: “Anyone who doesn’t follow our rules will have to leave.”
He added: “With this, Austria is sending a clear message: Zero tolerance toward all those who have forfeited their right of residence through criminal offenses.”
Deportations to Afghanistan have been controversial. Pro-asylum groups consider it an unsafe country where deportees could face the threat of persecution by the Taliban, which has not been officially recognized as the ruling government by any EU country.
According to the Austrian public broadcaster ORF, the deportee was convicted of a sex offense and severe assault, and spent four years in an Austrian prison.
A spokesperson for Vienna’s Interior Ministry told POLITICO: “Austria deports convicted criminals to their home countries. If that’s not currently possible in a specific case, we work hard and consistently to make sure it will be possible in the future.”
Stocker said the Interior Ministry plans further deportations. His government also resumed deportations to Syria and Somalia earlier this year.
The first Afghan deportation came two days after Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner of the conservative Austrian’s People’s Party (ÖVP) discussed the issue with Swedish Migration Minister Johan Forssell.
Last Thursday, Karner, Forssell and 18 other EU migration ministers sent a joint letter to EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner, urging the bloc to allow the “voluntary or forced return” of Afghan nationals.
European Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert told journalists Monday that the EU was in “close contact with member states” on the issue.
“Earlier this year we have initiated exploratory contacts at technical level with the de facto authorities in Afghanistan. We are ready to continue supporting member states in their efforts,” he said.
Austria’s neighbor Germany resumed deportations of Afghans to Kabul in August 2024.
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