Austria deports first Afghan since Taliban seized power, says more to come

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VIENNA (Reuters) -Austria deported an Afghan national back to his home country on Tuesday for the first time since the Taliban seized power there four years ago, and the conservative-led coalition government in Vienna said that more would follow soon.

The government has made fighting illegal immigration a top priority, apparently seeking to erode support for the far-right Freedom Party, or FPO, by focusing on one of its core issues.

The three-party ruling coalition of centrist parties took office in March after the FPO won a parliamentary election but failed to form a governing alliance. The FPO has maintained its lead in opinion polls. 

“This morning, a man convicted of serious crimes was deported to Kabul – the first deportation to Afghanistan since 2021,” Chancellor Christian Stocker of the conservative Austrian People’s Party wrote on X.

“Austria is thus sending a clear message: zero tolerance for anyone who has forfeited their right to remain by committing criminal offences,” he added.      

In July, Austria became the first European Union country to deport a Syrian back to their home country since the civil war there broke out despite objections by human rights groups that it was too soon to know if it was safe to do so.

Austria has been saying for months that it hopes to resume deportations to Afghanistan despite similar objections.

Amnesty International said in a statement that Afghanistan remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world.

“Anyone who deports people to a state that commits crimes against its own people is deliberately denying protection and breaking the law,” it said, adding: “This betrayal of human rights must be stopped immediately!”

Syria and Afghanistan are the top countries of origin of asylum-seekers in Austria. The government has said that initially those deported will primarily be criminal offenders.

“The Interior Ministry under Gerhard Karner is preparing further deportations,” Stocker said.

(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Hugh Lawson)