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While Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz was answering questions from the capital's journalists at his first summer press conference last Friday, they were already sitting on the Qatar Airways plane. The deportation of the 81 Afghan criminals without the right to stay presented the diplomatic and political negotiators of the three countries with extremely difficult tasks. Negotiations continued until just before departure on Friday morning. Something could have gone wrong right up to the last moment.

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Few foreign policy issues

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Although the issue of illegal migration and criminal asylum seekers concerns many Germans more than the composition of the Federal Constitutional Court, the appointment of Judge Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf took up exactly one third of the one-and-a-half hour press conference. Other domestic issues also dominated the round. Despite the multitude of crises and conflicts on the globe, there was therefore little time for foreign policy issues. And this from a head of government who is more interested in foreign policy than his predecessors.

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Only diplo.news asked about the deportation

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The 200 or so journalists at the press conference did not ask a single question about the deportation operation. Only diplo.news raised the issue. The question was: “A question about the deportation of 81 Afghan offenders today. Have there been direct talks between Germany and the Taliban about this? What role has Qatar played in this and when are the next actions planned? ”

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Federal Chancellor Merz was clearly prepared for a question about deportation. However, he had not addressed the topic himself in his opening statement. When asked by diplo.news, he gave a detailed answer, which we quote in full here:

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“While we're sitting here, another flight like this is on its way from Germany to Afghanistan. You probably know that the former federal government also made such a flight possible last year.

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Negotiations on this have been going on for many weeks. There have always been technical contacts with Afghanistan. They know that we do not recognize the de facto government in Afghanistan. But you probably also know that diplomatic relations between Afghanistan and Germany have never been broken off. But diplomatic relations exist between states and not between governments. In this respect, there was an opportunity to hold talks, and that was what the Federal Government did.

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With the participation of the federal states, it has now been possible to deport a larger number of offenders who come from Afghanistan. The following applies to everyone: No one had residence status anymore. All asylum applications were finally rejected, without further appeal. That is why such a deportation and such a flight were also possible.

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Thanks to the Emir

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I would like to express my thanks to the Emir of Qatar and also to the country. Qatar has helped with this and has also played an important role in this context. I am grateful that this was finally possible today. You know that we have also included a corresponding provision in our coalition agreement, and it is being implemented for the first time today. ”

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However, Merz did not want to say who had held these talks on the German side. He only revealed that “several parts of the federal government were involved.”

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Telephone call between Doha and Berlin

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The fact that the German head of government explicitly thanked the Emir of Qatar for his support in public was a first. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not do this during the first deportation in August last year.

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There was even a telephone conversation at the highest level on Sunday morning. The Emir and the Chancellor spoke to each other about the deportation. Details of the conversation were not disclosed.

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Reintegration is controlled

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According to Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abulaziz Al-Khulafi, it is particularly important for Qatar that a special control mechanism monitors the reintegration process. The mechanism should ensure that deportees are treated humanely after their arrival in Afghanistan. The Taliban should ensure that the men are not executed or tortured after their return, for example. The living conditions following the completion of repatriation are therefore monitored for a longer period of time.

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Instead of 96, only 81 deportation candidates

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The fact that only 81 of the original 96 deportation candidates got on the plane at the last moment was also due to Qatari intervention. Those men who have family members in Germany should not be separated from their families.

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The Qatar Airways plane had already arrived in Leipzig on Thursday afternoon. According to information from diplo.news, there were no representatives from Afghanistan on board, but 49 men from an armed Qatari special unit, which was supposed to ensure safety on the return flight. Since they were not allowed to enter German soil with weapons, it was agreed with the Federal Police to deposit the weapons in the seats on the aircraft. On the part of the federal police, more than 250 officers accompanied the action at the airport.

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The men knew nothing

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The offenders were brought to Leipzig Airport overnight from several federal states. There were no women and no minors among them. When they picked them up, the men did not know that they were going to the airport and that deportation was imminent.

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Before boarding the aircraft, at Kabul's request, each individual was interviewed in detail via video. In doing so, the Afghan side wanted to absolutely ensure that the identity of the men matches the information on the lists. In fact, many did not have passports. In Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, the men were welcomed almost like heroes.

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The preparations between the three countries involved took place over many weeks. Nevertheless, it was possible to keep the plans secret. The date and time of departure were unknown until recently. This was intended to prevent activists from NGOs or church groups from blocking Leipzig Airport with protest actions.

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ekö

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