Afghans freed by Taliban after deportation from Germany

Dozens of Afghans have been freed by the Taliban after they were deported back to their homeland from Germany for the first time since the terror group seized power three years ago, according to reports.

Up to 28 Afghans, described as criminals by Berlin, were sent back to Afghanistan just over a week ago as German chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed to crack down on foreign criminals in his country, der Spiegel reported.

The Taliban released them after asking for “written assurances” they would not commit any crimes in Afghanistan, Suhail Shahin, head of the Taliban’s political bureau in the Qatar, was quoted as saying.

The deportations were criticised by human rights groups who claimed the nationals would be unsafe in Afghanistan. Amnesty International accused Berlin of being an “accomplice” of the Taliban.

Mr Scholz vowed to deport criminals from Afghanistan and Syria following the stabbing of a German police officer by a 25-year-old Afghan suspect in May.

Mr Scholz said: “It outrages me when someone who has found protection here commits the most serious crimes.”

But Berlin will not take steps towards the normalisation of its relations with the Taliban, a foreign ministry spokesperson said.

“As long as the general conditions are as they are, and the Taliban behave the way they do, there will be no effort to normalise relations with the Taliban,” the spokesperson said.

“There are contacts on a technical level, especially through our representative office in Doha,” the spokesperson added, referring to months of negotiations over the deportations.

Although in the works for months, the deportations went ahead a week after a deadly knife attack in the town of Solingen in which the suspect is a Syrian citizen who applied for asylum in Germany.

The suspect was supposed to be sent back to Bulgaria last year but reportedly disappeared for a time and avoided deportation.

Mr Scholz has previously announced measures to remove benefits from refugees who arrive in Germany through other EU countries, leaving them with the bare essentials of “bed, bread, and soap”.

Last week, top German officials met with the country’s opposition and state governments to discuss ways to speed up deportations and curb migration.

Since then, German politicians have urged the government to set up a special task force to increase the number of foreign criminals in Germany being deported from the country.