VIENNA: Austria — one of the European Union members pushing for deportations of Afghans and Syrians — on Tuesday deported an Afghan man, the first such removal since 2021.
The Alpine nation is one of 20 EU member states which have urged the European Commission to take action to enable both voluntary and forced returns of Afghans with no legal right to stay.
In July, it also became the first EU country in recent years to deport a Syrian.
It has since sent two other Syrians back to their home country, where long-time strongman Bashar Assad was ousted in December.
A 31-year-old Afghan, who served four years in jail over a sexual offense and causing grievous bodily harm, was deported from Vienna via Istanbul to Kabul, Austria’s interior ministry said.
This was the first such deportation since summer 2021, it said, adding that more deportations of criminal convicts were being prepared.
Austria’s conservative-led government received Taliban government representatives in Vienna in September, drawing criticism from rights group and the opposition Greens.
The Taliban have been largely isolated on the global stage since they imposed a strict version of Islamic law after they returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, following the withdrawal of US-led forces.
Lawyers for the Afghan, who came to Austria as an unaccompanied minor, failed to obtain a court order to stop his deportation on the grounds that he suffered “severe psychological impairment,” according to rights group Asylkoordination Austria.
“We are concerned... that there is no follow-up on what actually happens to the people” who are deported, spokesman Lukas Gahleitner-Gertz told AFP.
They could face “torture or inhumane treatment” in their home countries, he said.
The EU said on Monday it has “initiated exploratory contacts” with the Taliban government in Afghanistan, in the face of pressure from EU member states to increase deportations of failed asylum seekers.
Germany has deported more than 100 Afghans since last year.
Austria deports Afghan, a first since 2021
https://arab.news/mmnve
Austria deports Afghan, a first since 2021
- The Alpine nation is one of 20 EU member states which have urged the European Commission to take action to enable both voluntary and forced returns of Afghans with no legal right to stay
Saudi ambassador becomes first foreign envoy to meet Bangladesh’s new PM
- Tarique Rahman took oath as PM last week after landslide election win
- Ambassador Abdullah bin Abiyah also meets Bangladesh’s new FM
Dhaka: Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Dhaka became on Sunday the first foreign envoy to meet Bangladesh’s new Prime Minister Tarique Rahman since he assumed the country’s top office.
Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party made a landslide win in the Feb. 12 election, securing an absolute majority with 209 seats in the 300-seat parliament.
The son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and former President and BNP founder Ziaur Rahman, he was sworn in as the prime minister last week.
The Saudi government congratulated Rahman on the day he took the oath of office, and the Kingdom’s Ambassador Abdullah bin Abiyah was received by the premier in the Bangladesh Secretariat, where he also met Bangladesh’s new foreign minister.
“Among the ambassadors stationed in Dhaka, this is the first ambassadorial visit with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman since he assumed office,” Saleh Shibli, the prime minister’s press secretary, told Arab News.
“The ambassador conveyed greetings and best wishes to Bangladesh’s prime minister from the king and crown prince of Saudi Arabia … They discussed bilateral matters and ways to strengthen the ties among Muslim countries.”
Rahman’s administration succeeded an interim government that oversaw preparations for the next election following the 2024 student-led uprising, which toppled former leader Sheikh Hasina and ended her Awami League party’s 15-year rule.
New Cabinet members were sworn in during the same ceremony as the prime minister last week.
Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman is a former UN official who served as Bangladesh’s national security adviser during the interim government’s term.
He received Saudi Arabia’s ambassador after the envoy’s meeting with the prime minister.
“The foreign minister expressed appreciation for the Saudi leadership’s role in promoting peace and stability in the Middle East and across the Muslim Ummah. He also conveyed gratitude for hosting a large number of Bangladeshi workers in the Kingdom and underscored the significant potential for expanding cooperation across trade, investment, energy, and other priority sectors, leveraging the geostrategic positions of both countries,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The Saudi ambassador expressed his support to the present government and his intention to work with the government to enhance the current bilateral relationship to a comprehensive relationship.”
Around 3.5 million Bangladeshis live and work in Saudi Arabia. They have been joining the Saudi labor market since 1976, when work migration to the Kingdom was established during the rule of the new prime minister’s father.
Bangladeshis are the largest expat group in the Kingdom and the largest Bangladeshi community outside Bangladesh and send home more than $5 billion in remittances every year.
