Germany expands Afghan deportations beyond criminals as Faridoon Tofan, 46, faces removal next week

Germany has lifted the restriction that limited deportations to Afghanistan to criminals and security threats, opening the door for a broader group of Afghan nationals to be returned. The policy shift became public after Hesse's interior ministry circulated a federal police notice from July 8, instructing authorities to report male, adult, single Afghans who are required to leave the country. The case of Faridoon Tofan, a 46-year-old who fled the Taliban and worked in Germany, has become a flashpoint: he was detained in mid-April during a bus trip to Rome and now faces deportation next week.

The case of Faridoon Tofan

Tofan arrived in Germany nearly four years ago, escaping the Taliban. He learned the language and held a job, but his asylum application was rejected. In mid-April, he took a bus to Rome for a short trip, despite not being permitted to leave Germany. He was stopped at a border check and taken directly to a deportation prison in Munich. On Wednesday, July 22, his follow-up asylum application was finally rejected. His removal is scheduled for the coming days.

He will probably be flown out on a charter flight with various criminals to Afghanistan. So even during deportation, no distinction is made between whether someone has committed a crime or not.

Amnesty International says Tofan's family in Kabul, his wife and six children, were recently visited by the Taliban and have been living in constant fear. His sons have stopped attending school. Alizadeh Marandi, who is in close contact with Tofan, calls the case a precedent: a person who is not a criminal is being sent back into the hands of the regime he fled.

Policy shift and political reactions

The federal police notice, dated July 8, removed the previous limitation to "criminals and threats." Hesse's interior ministry informed its regional authorities on July 10. The criteria now are: male, adult, single, and fully required to leave. Hesse's interior minister Roman Poseck (CDU) said the focus would remain on criminals, but the state would also use the broader possibilities.

Only through a consistent migration policy can we prevent an overload of the state and society.

Saxony's interior minister Armin Schuster (CDU) welcomed the move, saying the state would expand deportations to all criminals and to those who have shown no integration, are on social benefits, or do not cooperate with identity clarification. Brandenburg's social minister René Wilke (SPD) said priority remains on criminals, but now also those without prospects or benefit to society would be deported.

Green politician Marcel Emmerich called the expansion irresponsible. Union interior spokesman Alexander Throm insisted that anyone without a right to stay must leave.

We are enforcing law and order here, and with consistency.

Numbers and diplomatic channels

According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, around 452,000 Afghan nationals live in Germany. Of these, 15,300 are required to leave the country: 11,400 have a temporary suspension (Duldung) and 4,000 do not. In the current legislative period, 173 Afghan men have been deported, all of them criminals. Two Taliban consular officials have been in Germany since 2025 to verify identities and issue travel documents; up to four more are expected but have not yet arrived. The German government does not recognise the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

Human rights concerns

Amnesty International argues that deportations to Afghanistan fundamentally violate human rights obligations. The organisation says the German government is normalising cooperation with the Taliban, who have committed severe human rights abuses. Alizadeh Marandi warns that Tofan faces arrest, torture, or even death upon return.

Migration policy in Germany is brutalising; human rights violations are being normalised just like cooperation with actors such as the Taliban.

The case is being watched closely as a test of how far the new policy will reach. With several states signalling they will use the expanded powers, more non-criminal Afghans could soon face the same fate.