No progress in Swiss repatriation of criminals to Afghanistan

More than two months after a delicate meeting with members of the Islamist Taliban government on repatriating convicted criminals from Switzerland to Afghanistan, it is clear that no further deportations have taken place. + Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Four officials from the Afghan Taliban government traveled to Geneva for two days in mid-August. They were supposed to identify 13 Afghan citizens at the airport, thus paving the way for their repatriation to Afghanistan. But all 13 Afghans are still in Switzerland, as confirmed by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM). They include 11 convicted criminals and two voluntary returnees. When asked by Swiss public broadcaster SRF, SEM declined to comment on the reasons why the repatriations have not yet taken place. In August, it was stated that the identification of the majority of the 13 Afghans had been successful and that travel documents were being prepared. SEM remains committed to its plans and ...