Claim: Germany has started deporting Afghan nationals; 250 people were sent on the first flight.
Fact: This claim is misleading as there are no official announcements of deportation from German authorities. Evidence suggests that Germany halted all deportation processes after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.
On 4 July 2024, Pakistani actor and TV host Najiba Faiz posted a video (archive) on X, with the caption, “Germany has commenced the deportation of Afghan nationals. The first flight, carrying 250 Afghans, departed from Germany and travelled via Turkey, finally arriving in Afghanistan”.
The video shows a large group of men, aboard a plane, recording a video of themselves. One of them, speaking in Dari, can be heard saying, “I am in Turkey now, going to Afghanistan.”
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check conducted a reverse search on the video’s keyframes to investigate the claim but could not find any credible information.
However, on closer inspection of the video, we noticed the airline’s logo, which led us to confirm that the men are shown aboard an Ariana Afghan Airlines plane. A comparison between the official logo of the airline (right) and that of the plane’s seats (left) can be seen below:
A destination map available on the airline’s website shows that it does not fly to and from Germany. The airline has 11 travel destinations including 8 international operations. However, it operates in Turkey, from Istanbul and Ankara. It is important to note that the people in the viral video do not mention anything about being deported from Germany, or travelling back to Afghanistan from the European country.
According to Handbook Germany – an online platform for new citizens in Germany by the Federal Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration, deportation takes place if an asylum visa is rejected and in principle, deportations are carried out on normal passenger flights. Sometimes, however, an aircraft is chartered just for deportation.
To investigate further, Soch Fact Check reached out to a journalist associated with Deutsche Welle (DW) Germany, Warda Imran Shaikh, who told us that there are no official reports of such deportations in the media. She also mentioned that during most cases of deportations, the personal belongings of the deportees are packed and sealed, making it very hard for them to film themselves. Shaikh added that German officials began debating deportations to Afghanistan and Syria after an Afghan asylum seeker killed a police officer in May 2024.
Furthermore, we checked the websites of the Bavarian Refugee Council (an NGO providing advice to refugees) and ProAsyl (an umbrella organisation for refugee councils in Germany). Both organisations mentioned on their websites that deportations have been paused since August 2021.
In October 2022, Germany launched an official state program to evacuate people from Afghanistan who were at risk. No credible reports of sending the migrants back have surfaced since, as the execution program is still being implemented.
We also reached out for comment to reporters from DW who specialise in news on Afghanistan, and this fact-check will be updated once a response is received.
Germany in talks for deportation
On 16 June, Bloomberg reported that Germany is exploring a potential migration pact with Uzbekistan that could involve deporting Afghan asylum seekers, avoiding direct negotiations with the Taliban. According to the proposed arrangement, Uzbekistan would accept a restricted number of Afghan asylum applicants rejected by Germany, and facilitate their subsequent travel to Afghanistan via a private airline service to Kabul.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats-led coalition, which includes the Greens, has opposed proposals for deportations to Afghanistan.
On 29 July, The Telegraph reported that the German authorities are in talks with the Afghan Taliban government to send back criminal migrants. However, no plan has been finalised yet. The article also added that the United Nations has said the “conditions for the safe return of refugees” are therefore “not present”.
There are no reports in the media confirming that Afghan migrants are being deported in 2024. Evidence and the latest news suggest that the German government is still in talks with other countries. Therefore, the post claiming to share a video of Afghan refugees deported from Germany is misleading.
Virality
The post on X received 455.7K views, 1,700 likes and 470 reposts. It can also be seen here.
On Facebook, it was shared here.
Conclusion: Germany has not commenced deportations of Afghan refugees. Deportations were halted after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. German authorities are in talks with the Afghan Taliban government to send back criminal migrants, but no plan has been finalised yet.
Background image in cover photo: Getty Images
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