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Austria has forcibly returned a convicted criminal to Afghanistan for the first time since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, and Vienna has warned that more deportations are planned.
Prime Minister Christian Stocker announced the deportations in a post in the X newspaper on Tuesday morning, saying: “Those who do not follow our rules must leave.”
“This is a clear message from Austria: we have zero tolerance for people who have been deprived of their right to stay due to criminal acts,” said Stocker, leader of the conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP).
He added: “Under Gerhard Karner’s government, the Interior Ministry is preparing for further deportations.”
The deported man was convicted of sexual offenses and serious assault and spent four years in prison, public broadcaster ORF reported.
Amnesty International criticized the deportations and said Afghanistan remained one of the most dangerous countries in the world.
“Those who forcibly return people to countries that commit crimes against their own citizens are intentionally denying them protection and breaking the law,” the ministry said in a statement. “This betrayal of human rights must be stopped immediately.”
In July, Austria became the first EU member state to forcibly return Syrian nationals to their homeland since the civil war began in 2011.
The move also sparked criticism from human rights groups who questioned the security situation in the country since the ouster of former ruler Bashar al-Assad.
Austria’s three-party coalition government, which took office in March, has made tackling illegal immigration one of its priorities. The country’s far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) came first in parliamentary elections in September, but failed to form a government.
Meanwhile, Germany began deporting Afghans back to their home countries in August last year.
Twenty European countries, including Austria and Germany, on Saturday called on the European Commission to prioritize the voluntary or forced return of Afghans living in Europe illegally.
