Employees of the German Foreign Ministry made mistakes when issuing visas to Afghan citizens who wished to evacuate to Germany, German Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer said on Friday at a briefing of the country’s Cabinet of Ministers.
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Earlier it became known that the prosecutor’s office in Berlin and the city of Cottbus began an investigation against employees of the German Foreign Ministry in connection with allowing thousands of migrants with fake documents or insufficient documents to enter the country.
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Fischer explained that in reality, what we are talking about is that the German consulate employees endorsed a number of intermediate international passports of Afghan citizens, which under normal circumstances are not recognized by Germany, since they are issued by Afghan departments, including to third parties – relatives and friends.
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“In a specific case, the passports presented today would not have been endorsed, since there is a need to issue a passport for a foreigner, on the basis of which entry into Germany would be allowed,” he emphasized.
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Fischer only partially confirmed this information, stating about 24 cases known to him, in three of which the prosecutor’s office of Berlin and the city of Cottbus began an investigation. He clarified that in all cases, preliminary identity checks regarding the applicants passed without any complaints.
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As the reasons for the error, Fisher explained that the Afghan interim and final passports look almost identical. At the same time, the speaker of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could not explain why, in this case, already in Germany, law enforcement officers were able to recognize this difference immediately upon entry.
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In early August 2021, the Taliban stepped up their offensive against Afghan government forces, entered Kabul on August 15 and declared the war over the next day. During the last two weeks of August, a mass evacuation of citizens of Western countries and Afghans collaborating with them took place from Kabul airport, which was under the protection of the American military. The German authorities, in view of the danger posed to a number of Afghan citizens, have launched a special program for the reception of Afghan refugees.
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On May 31, in Mannheim, Germany, Afghan Suleiman Atai, who arrived in the country 11 years ago, attacked the famous critic of Islamism, Michael Stürzenberger, with a knife during a rally of the right-wing movement PAX Europa. As a result of the incident, six people were injured, including Stürzenberger, and police officer Ruven L. died from his wounds on Sunday. The assailant was wounded by police gunfire.
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After this incident, a dispute flared up in German society about the deportation of a number of citizens of other countries who were found to be extremists. Later, the German Cabinet of Ministers adopted a draft amendment to the law on deportation, after approval of which in parliament the procedure for the expulsion of migrants justifying terrorism will be simplified.
