A Nuremberg court has freed a 20-year-old Afghan being held in custody while awaiting deportation. His arrest was resisted by 300 fellow students, but it remains unclear whether he will be allowed to stay in Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Beck
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A court in Nuremberg on Thursday rejected a regional authority application that a 20-year-old Afghan be kept in custody until June 30, pending deportation back to war-torn Afghanistan.
Instead, he walked free to be greeted outside the court by 25 fellow students and his teacher at the vocational school he had been attending, with the prospect of being offered a formal apprenticeship.
His classmates battled with police at the school when authorities picked him up for deportation, drawing renewed criticism over the government's controversial policy of deporting people back to the war-torn country. German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday evening said deportations would be postponed until July.
Nine police officers were injured in the clashes and five people were taken into temporary custody in the ensuing scuffle, which saw police use pepper spray and dogs against some protesters hurling bottles and blocking patrol cars.
Pictures of the clashes spread quickly on social media. Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Nürnberger Nachrichten/ARC/M. Matejka
The spontaneous demonstration quickly spread on social media and moved to the immigration office in the center of the city. Later demonstrations were not violent and moved to the city's Foreigners Office.
He has reportedly been in Germany for four years. According to students and teachers, he was well-integrated and had good prospects for an apprenticeship.
The protest prevented police from leaving the school for several hours. Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Nürnberger Nachrichten/ARC/M. Matejka
The forced deportation attempt in Nuremberg drew renewed criticism from opposition politicians, churches and civil society.
"The federal government must urgently rethink its decision to deport people to Afghanistan," said Nuremberg Mayor Ulrich Maly, whose Social Democrats are the junior coalition partner with Chancellor Merkel's Christian Democrats at the federal level. "Pulling a student out of the classroom is unacceptable."
Seventeen years after the US invasion of Afghanistan, the war-torn country remains in the grip of Islamist violence. A string of deadly attacks in the last year suggests militants are stronger than ever.
Image: picture alliance/Photoshot
Fragile security
Repeated attacks in Afghanistan in 2018 and 2019 have killed and wounded hundreds of innocent Afghans, and shown the world the fragile and worsening state of security in the conflict-stricken country. The incidents have plunged war-weary Afghan citizens into a state of despair and highlighted the limitations faced by the government in Kabul in ensuring public security.
Image: Reuters/M. Ismail
A long series of attacks
The violent incidents have made Afghanistan once again a staple of international headlines. Outfits like the Taliban and the "Islamic State" (IS) have claimed responsibility for the attacks. The Afghan government is under heavy pressure to restore security and take back territory controlled by a number of insurgent groups, including the Taliban and IS.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Hossaini
Spring offensive
In 2018, the Taliban announced the start of their annual spring offensive, dismissing an offer of peace talks by President Ashraf Ghani. The militants, fighting to restore their version of strict Islamic law to Afghanistan, said their campaign was a response to a more aggressive US military strategy adopted in 2017, which aims to force the militants into peace talks.
Image: Reuters
Trump's Afghanistan policy
US President Donald Trump unveiled a new strategy for Afghanistan in 2017, vowing to deploy more troops to train and advise Afghan security forces. Trump also pledged to support Afghan troops in their war against the Taliban and maintain US presence in the country for as long as there was a need for it. In 2019, he reversed course and promised a troop pullout.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/B. Smialowski
Afghan peace process
Despite President Ghani's offer in February 2018 for peace talks "without preconditions," the Taliban had until 2019 shown no interest, dismissing the peace overtures as a "conspiracy."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/N. Shirzad
Pakistani support
Pakistan has been under pressure from Kabul and Washington to stop offering safe havens to militants blamed for attacks in Afghanistan, a charge Islamabad denies and insists that its influence over the insurgents has been exaggerated. Kabul and Islamabad regularly trade accusations of harboring the other country's militants and the harsh language has underscored the strains between them.
Image: DW/H. Hamraz
Role of the warlords
Apart from the Taliban, Afghan warlords exercise massive influence in the country. Last year, Hizb-i-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar returned to Kabul after a 20-year exile to play an active role in Afghan politics. In September 2016, the Afghan government signed a deal with Hekmatyar in the hope that other warlords and militant groups would seek better ties with Kabul.
Image: Reuters/O.Sobhani
An inefficient government
In the midst of an endless battle for power, President Ghani's approval ratings continue to plummet. Rampant corruption in the Afghan government and a long tug-of-war within the US-brokered national unity government has had a negative impact on the government's efforts to eradicate terrorism.
Image: Reuters/K. Pempel
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Jörg Alt from the Jesuit Order pointed his criticism directly at the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party of Merkel's CDU. He said the CSU's deportation stance has "nothing to do with being 'Christian' or 'social.'"
But the CSU, which has pushed for tighter immigration policies, defended its position.
Bavaria's state interior minister, Joachim Herrmann, said Wednesday the terror attack in Afghanistan was "horrible but must not lead to an end of deportations."
Responding to the tumult in Bavaria, CSU head Horst Seehofer, spoke of "difficult decisions" for every deportation.
"We must, on the one hand, see if integration works, and, on the other hand, we must be careful not to create massive new refugee flows," he said.
Refugees brave the Death Pass into Europe
"Passo della Morte," the Death Pass, is the last hurdle in Italy for many migrants and refugees venturing further north into Europe. Photojournalist Federico Scoppa accompanied several Afghans on the precarious crossing.
Image: DW/F.Scoppa
Into the woods
A small group of Afghan teenagers, fearful of being followed by police, set off on the roughly 12-kilometer (seven mile) hike along roads and the dangerous mountain tracks of the Death Pass to France.
Image: DW/F.Scoppa
A treacherous route
Migrants and refugees cross the border between the town of Ventimiglia in Italy and Menton in France by walking through the highway tunnels or along railroad tracks or by climbing over the rocky mountain. Whichever way they choose, the journey is sometimes fatal.
Image: DW/F.Scoppa
High speeds, low visibility
Many migrants and refugees access the highway that leads to France at this fence. From here they risk their lives walking through the tunnel.
Image: DW/F.Scoppa
Relying on nature
Those who opt for the Death Pass generally set off without knowing the route or carrying supplies of food or water.
Image: DW/F.Scoppa
Out with the old
Old farmers' storehouses are used by refugees and migrants as shelter, to rest or to wait for nightfall before they cross the mountain. Worn clothes are left behind when they change into fresh clothes, hoping that a tidy appearance will help them avoid getting caught by the French police.
Image: DW/F.Scoppa
'Peace' signals the way
A "pace" flag hanging from the border fence between Italy and France indicates where people can squeeze through. The French government erected the fence after World War II to stop Italian immigration.
Image: DW/F.Scoppa
Charting a path
The teenagers survey the route down to Menton. The highest point of the Death Pass is nearly 300 meters (985 feet). Often the migrants and refugees are caught once they make it to France and sent back to Italy.
