Two prominent advocacy groups have filed a criminal complaint against Germany’s foreign and interior ministers, accusing them of failing to protect Afghan nationals in Pakistan who were approved for relocation to Germany from being sent back to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, reported by Reuters.
Pakistan has begun deporting documented Afghan refugees ahead of a September 1 deadline—a move the United Nations warns could force more than one million to leave. Among those at risk are over 2,000 Afghans deemed vulnerable under Taliban rule and already accepted into German resettlement programs.
Relocations have been paused by Germany’s new conservative-led government, which is reviewing the program as part of its pledge to curb migration. The refugee rights group PRO ASYL and the Patenschaftsnetzwerk Ortskräfte, which supports Afghans who worked for Germany, allege that ministers Johann Wadephul and Alexander Dobrindt have committed “abandonment” and “failure to render assistance” under German criminal law.
The groups say more than 400 approved refugees have been arrested in Pakistan in recent weeks, with at least 34 already deported—many facing detention, abuse, or execution upon return. One lawyer described cases of families separated, including a girl sent back alone.
Wadephul said Friday that his ministry is in “high-level contact” with Pakistan to protect affected individuals and assist those recently detained or deported. The interior ministry has offered no timeline for decisions on the program’s future.
The lawsuit builds on a July legal opinion suggesting German officials could face criminal liability for failing to act. It joins more than 80 individual legal challenges by Afghans awaiting German visas, with some court rulings in their favor now under government appeal.
For those trapped in limbo, each passing day under threat is not just a legal matter—it is a race against time.
