Scholz calls deportations to Afghanistan 'clear signal' to criminals

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described a deportation flight that departed for Afghanistan on Friday as a clear signal that the country would strictly enforce the law.

"It is a clear signal: Those who commit crimes cannot count on us not deporting, but we will try to do so, as you can see in this case," Scholz said during an election campaign event for his centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) near the eastern city of Leipzig.

"We have announced that we will also deport criminals back to Afghanistan. We prepared this carefully without talking about it too much, because such plans only succeed if you make an effort, if you do it carefully and very discreetly. That was done today," he said.

Friday morning's flight to Afghanistan is the first time Germany has deported Afghans back to their home country since the hardline Islamist Taliban retook power in the country three years ago.

According to Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, 28 Afghan men who had been convicted of criminal offences in Germany were on board the flight.