“Such people should be deported”
Scholz wants to deport people to Afghanistan if they commit serious crimes
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After the fatal knife attack on a police officer in Mannheim, the Chancellor is calling for serious criminals to be deported to Afghanistan and Syria. Anyone who glorifies terrorism should also have to leave the country. Scholz is also calling for more knife ban zones.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to make it possible to deport serious criminals to Afghanistan and Syria again. “Such criminals should be deported – even if they come from Syria and Afghanistan,” said the SPD politician in the Bundestag. “Serious criminals and terrorist threats have no place here.”
The Chancellor did not say exactly how he wanted to make this possible. The Federal Ministry of the Interior is working on practical implementation and is already in discussions with Afghanistan's neighboring countries.
We will no longer tolerate terrorist crimes being glorified and celebrated. “That is why we will tighten our expulsion regulations so that the formation of terrorist offenses results in a serious interest in deportation,” said the Chancellor. “Anyone who glorifies terrorism goes against all of our values and should also be deported.”
No deportations since the Taliban came to power
Last Friday, an Afghan injured five participants in a rally of the anti-Islam movement Pax Europa and a police officer with a knife in Mannheim. The officer later died from his injuries. The attack sparked a debate about easing the ban on deportations to Afghanistan.
Since the radical Islamist Taliban came to power in Kabul in August 2021, Germany has no longer sent anyone back to Afghanistan. Because of the already difficult security situation at the time, it had already been agreed that only men – and especially criminals and so-called terrorist threats – would be brought to Kabul under coercion.
Repatriation via neighboring countries is being examined
The many people from Syria and Afghanistan who have come to Germany as asylum seekers in the past ten years also include some who have now committed serious crimes in the Federal Republic or who the police believe are capable of carrying out a terrorist attack. The Chancellor argued that when it comes to serious criminals and terrorist threats, Germany's security interests outweigh the perpetrator's interests in protecting them.
The Conference of Interior Ministers (IMK) of the federal and state governments had already criticized in December that serious criminals and dangerous people from countries such as Syria and Afghanistan could not be deported to their countries of origin. She asked the Federal Ministry of the Interior to look for a way out until the IMK spring meeting on June 19th. Then results should be presented. For a deportation by plane, cooperation with the Taliban or the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which is responsible for the worst human rights violations, would be necessary. As Scholz said in his speech, repatriation via neighboring countries is now being examined.
Scholz also announced tougher penalties. Anyone who attacks or lures women and men who want to help and save lives into ambushes must feel “the full force of the law.” “To this end, we will specifically tighten criminal law and punish such sneaky attacks more harshly.” It is already possible to designate weapon and knife ban zones. This must be used more and more consistently nationwide.
“Peace does not mean submission”
Scholz defended his permission to use German weapons on Russian territory in the Ukraine war. “Ukraine has the right under international law to defend itself against attacks on its territory, on its cities and on its citizens,” he said. “This also applies to attacks like those in the Kharkiv area, which Russia carries out from positions in the directly adjacent Russian border area.”
Last week, after much consideration, the federal government allowed Ukraine to use German weapons against targets in the Russian border area. The government in the USA had already taken this step. “It is right that we coordinate closely with our partners and allies before such far-reaching decisions,” emphasized Scholz. “That we act prudently. That we carefully weigh up all the risks.”
“Securing peace today means that we support Ukraine in defending its independence and sovereignty,” said Scholz. “Securing peace does not mean raising the white flag or capitulating to violence and injustice. Peace does not mean submission.”
