The Saxony State Minister for the Interior, Armin Schuster, has called for repercussions following the disappearance of three Afghan nationals with criminal records shortly before their scheduled deportation flight on Friday.
Schuster, in an interview with MDR Aktuell, stated that there appeared to be a “clear abuse of asylum continuation requests”. The individuals, he explained, were initially detained in preparatory detention for deportation. However, legal representatives subsequently filed asylum continuation requests, necessitating their release from custody. Despite the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) swiftly providing a final decision in the matter, the individuals were no longer locatable prior to the flight’s departure. Two of the men remain unaccounted for.
Schuster defended the actions of Saxony’s authorities, asserting that they adhered to legal procedures. He expressed hope that the new federal government will solidify future deportation flights to Afghanistan, which he believes would increase judicial confidence regarding the viability of such flights. This, he suggested, could influence decisions made by judges considering orders for detention.
Furthermore, Schuster intends to raise concerns regarding the apparent misuse of asylum continuation requests during the upcoming Interior Ministers’ Conference. He emphasized the individuals’ deportation obligation, highlighting that they had already completed asylum proceedings with all legal avenues exhausted. He voiced his dissatisfaction with the repeated obstruction and delays caused by what he described as “substantively unfounded” asylum continuation requests.
