Afghan suspect in German knife attack missed deportation deadline to Bulgaria

Sofia: An Afghan man suspected of carrying out a knife attack in Aschaffenburg, southern Germany, which claimed the lives of two individuals and injured two others, had been slated for deportation to Bulgaria.

However, the process failed due to a missed deadline, Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann revealed, as cited by DPA.

The man’s asylum application was rejected by Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees in June 2023. Under the Dublin regulation, which stipulates that asylum requests must be processed in the first EU country of arrival, he was ordered to return to Bulgaria. However, Herrmann stated that Bavaria’s immigration authorities were only notified of the deportation order on July 26, just six days before the deadline for its enforcement.

“Such a return cannot be organized within six days, especially if it is completely unprepared,” Herrmann explained.

Following the missed deadline, the 28-year-old suspect remained in Germany. In December 2024, he informed authorities of his wish to return to Afghanistan. Despite this, he was unable to leave due to the absence of necessary documents from the Afghan consulate, Herrmann added.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser also addressed the matter, highlighting efforts to deport more criminals to Afghanistan. She noted that Germany remains the only European country to have deported serious offenders to Afghanistan since the Taliban’s rise to power.

“We are working hard to deport more criminals to Afghanistan,” Faeser stated. She also criticized the Dublin regulation, which she argued no longer functions effectively.

The suspect in the Aschaffenburg attack had initially arrived in Germany from Bulgaria, Faeser said, emphasizing the systemic issues with the current EU asylum framework. “We are already seeing again that the Dublin system is no longer working,” she remarked.