Germany deports 28 Afghan nationals to their homeland, the first since the Taliban takeover in 2021

BERLIN (AP) — Germany deported Afghan nationals to their homeland on Friday for the first time since August 2021 when the Taliban returned to power.

Government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit described the 28 Afghan nationals as convicted criminals but did not clarify their offenses.

“The security interests of Germany clearly outweigh the claim for protection of criminals and individuals endangering national security,” Hebestreit said in a statement.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, speaking near Leipzig during a local election campaign event Friday, called it "a clear sign that those who commit crimes cannot count on us not deporting them, but that we will look for ways to do so.”

German news agency dpa reported, citing information from the federal states involved in the deportations, that the offenses included rape, serious arson and manslaughter.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser called the move a security issue for Germany.

“You have seen that we have enforced the law and deported criminals back to Afghanistan," she said during a news conference Friday afternoon. "In my view, this is necessary to maintain trust in the rule of law.”

However, Julia Duchrow, secretary general of Amnesty International in Germany, blasted the deportations. In a statement Friday, she said the government bowed to political pressure during an election campaign. She added that Afghanistan is not safe and alleged that the deportations violate international law.

Berlin does not have diplomatic relations with the Taliban, requiring the government to work through other channels. It's unlikely that Friday's actions will lead to a wider thawing of relations between Germany and the Taliban, especially after last week's issuing of the first set of laws to prevent vice and promote virtue in Afghanistan. They include a requirement for a woman to conceal her face, body and voice outside the home.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has slammed the morality laws in posts on X.

While Hebestreit said the deportations have been in the works for months, they occurred a week after a deadly knife attack in the town of Solingen in which the suspect is a Syrian citizen who had applied for asylum in Germany.

The suspect was supposed to be deported to Bulgaria last year but reportedly disappeared for a time and avoided deportation. He was ordered to be held Sunday on suspicion of murder and membership of a terrorist organization pending further investigation and a possible indictment.

The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for last Friday’s attack, without providing evidence. The extremist group said on its news site that the attacker targeted Christians and that he carried out the assaults “to avenge Muslims in Palestine and everywhere.” The claim couldn’t be independently verified.

There has also been debate over immigration ahead of regional elections Sunday in the German states of Saxony and Thuringia, where anti-immigration parties such as the populist Alternative for Germany are expected to do well. In June, Scholz vowed that the country would start deporting criminals from Afghanistan and Syria again after a knife attack by an Afghan immigrant left one police officer dead and four more people wounded.

Faeser on Thursday announced a plan to tighten knife laws, according to German news agency dpa. Along with other officials in the governing coalition, she also pledged during a news conference to make deportations easier.

Federal Minister of the Interior and Home Affairs Nancy Faeser, left, attends the special session of the Bundestag's Committee on Internal Affairs, in Berlin, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. Germany deported Afghan nationals to their homeland on Friday for the first time since August 2021, when the Taliban returned to power. (Kay Nietfeld/dpa via AP)

Federal Minister of the Interior and Home Affairs Nancy Faeser attends the special session of the Bundestag's Committee on Internal Affairs, in Berlin, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. Germany deported Afghan nationals to their homeland on Friday for the first time since August 2021, when the Taliban returned to power. (Kay Nietfeld/dpa via AP)

Federal Minister of the Interior and Home Affairs Nancy Faeser, second from right, attends the special session of the Bundestag's Committee on Internal Affairs, in Berlin, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. Germany deported Afghan nationals to their homeland on Friday for the first time since August 2021, when the Taliban returned to power. (Kay Nietfeld/dpa via AP)

Flowers and candles are laid near the scene of a deadly knife attack during a festival, in Solingen, Germany, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024.(Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)

Candles sit at a memorial at the city center in Solingen, Germany, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, after a deadly knife attack during a festival on Friday, Aug. 23. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. historian and author Timothy Snyder on Saturday led a charity run in Kyiv to raise awareness of the conditions under which Ukrainian prisoners of war are held in Russia as the conflict approaches a third winter.

The race came following a recent escalation in Russian missile and drone attacks, largely aimed at Ukraine's electricity infrastructure.

People clapped and cheered after Snyder, a 55-year-old Yale University professor who has written extensively on eastern Europe and the global resurgence of authoritarian regimes and is much admired in Ukarine, addressed the nearly thousand runners. He then joined a workout and participated in the run.

“Thousands of Ukrainian civilians and soldiers are illegally held in captivity during an illegal war,” Snyder told The Associated Press just ahead of the run. “This race is about reminding everyone of that and expressing solidarity with Ukrainians and giving Ukrainians a chance to do something together,” he said.

The 5 and 10-kilometer runs took place around a sprawling park in the Ukrainian capital created out of a renovated Soviet-era exhibition center.

The runners included members of the public, servicepeople and veterans, as well as wives of the POWs. Among them was 27-year-old Anastasia Ofyl, whose husband Oleksandr was captured by the Russians. “We have to fight for him,” she said. “That’s why I’m running.”

Ukrainian soldiers often give harrowing accounts of their conditions in Russian captivity when they return home as part of regular prisoner exchanges.

In a report issued in July, a United Nations human rights agency said it “continued to document the widespread use of torture and ill-treatment, including sexual violence, against civilians and Ukrainian prisoners of war held by the Russian Federation.”

Snyder, who has organized fundraisers as part of the country’s war-relief effort, enjoys near-celebrity status in Ukraine. On Tuesday, he visited President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who thanked him for his charity work. The Ukrainian head of state also received former UK prime minister Boris Johnson, former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and the American actor Michael Douglas this week.

After Saturday’s race, Snyder was surrounded by admirers, many of whom waited in line for autographs and selfies. Some asked the historian to sign translated copies of his widely-read books on Ukraine, “Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin” and “The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America.”

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office on Sept. 10, 2024, U.S. historian and author Timothy Snyder, right, meets President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

A man participates a charity run to raise awareness on Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Russia, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

People participate a charity run to raise awareness on Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Russia, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

People participate a charity run to raise awareness on Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Russia, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

People warm up before a charity run to raise awareness on Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Russia, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A man pushes a woman in a wheelchair during a charity run to raise awareness for people with disabilities as they pass Wave pedestrian bridge in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Women on wheelchairs participate in a charity run to raise awareness for people with disabilities in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A man is cheered on during a charity run to raise awareness on Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Russia, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A woman runs with her dog during a charity run to raise awareness on Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Russia, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A man cheers as he participates in a charity run to raise awareness on Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Russia, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

People participate a charity run to raise awareness on Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Russia, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

People participate a charity run to raise awareness on Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Russia, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

People participate a charity run to raise awareness on Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Russia, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

U.S. historian and author Timothy Snyder gives autographs on his books before charity run to raise awareness on Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Russia, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, shakes hands with Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, shakes hands with Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena, center, pose for photo with US actor and UN ambassador Michael Douglas, right, and his son Dylan, left, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)