(Reuters) Germany said it resumed flying convicted criminals of Afghan nationality to their home country on Friday, days before German regional elections in which migration is a campaign issue.
Berlin stopped returning people to Afghanistan because of human rights concerns after the Taliban took power in 2021.
Pressure has increased on the coalition government to reverse that suspension after a fatal stabbing linked to Islamic State at a city festival a week ago and another knife attack in [May] when an Afghan man killed a German policeman.
The government, which on Thursday introduced a package of measures to tighten asylum policy and speed up deportations, is mindful of elections on Sunday in the eastern states of Saxony and Thuringia. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is leading in the polls with its anti-migration stance.
