Bavarian park attack ignites fierce debate on migration policy
An Afghan man is suspected of attacking a group of children in Bavaria. Politicians have reacted sharply, arguing over Germany's migration policy.
Two people died, and three were injured in a stabbing attack in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria, on Wednesday, 22nd January. The suspect is a 28-year-old immigrant from Afghanistan. He allegedly attacked a group of preschool children in a park.
The victims are a two-year-old boy and a 41-year-old man who tried to defend the children. Three people were injured: a two-year-old girl, a 61-year-old man, and a preschool teacher. According to the police, none of the injured are in danger.
The Afghan suspect arrived in Germany in mid-November 2022. He had previously drawn attention several times due to acts of violence. He was directed to psychiatric treatment but was released each time.
At the beginning of December last year, he declared in writing his willingness to voluntarily leave Germany. Subsequently, his asylum procedure was suspended and he was requested to leave the country.
German politicians speak out: intense disputes between parties
German politicians are demanding a swift resolution to the case. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and the heads of security offices on Wednesday evening.
Scholz wrote on X: "I am fed up with such acts of violence happening here every few weeks – by perpetrators who came to us seeking protection. A misguided sense of tolerance is completely inappropriate. The authorities must quickly explain why the attacker was still in Germany. The findings must immediately lead to consequences – talking is not enough."
Christian Lindner, head of the liberal FDP, which until recently co-formed the German government with the SPD and the Greens, reacted to the chancellor's tweet and wrote on X that "he knows Scholz's stance all too well." "But nothing ever followed from it because he (Scholz – ed.) gets lost in technical details, and the left wing of the red-green coalition dilutes and delays everything" – Lindner stated. "I've had enough. Change of policy!" – he added.
The leader of the populist-left BSW, Sahra Wagenknecht, used the deadly knife attack as an opportunity to again call for a change in refugee policy. "The fact that after Mannheim and Solingen (where knife attacks also occurred – ed.) nothing happened is primarily a failure of the chancellor and his interior minister" – Wagenknecht told "Politico" magazine. "This makes them politically co-responsible for every subsequent terrible act" – she added.
The populist-right AfD's candidate for chancellor, Alice Weidel, wrote on X: "My thoughts are with the relatives and the injured. Remigration immediately!"
The AfD party, which the German intelligence considers partly far-right, included "remigration" (returning migrants to their countries of origin) in its electoral programme.
Failed deportation to Bulgaria
Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann accused the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), which falls under the German Ministry of the Interior, of failure. Under the Dublin procedure, an attempt was made to deport the Afghan to Bulgaria. This was ordered on 19th June 2023, but the Bavarian authorities – responsible for the deportation – were notified late.
According to Herrmann, the Afghan man was informed in June 2023 of the rejection of his asylum application by Germany. He was also ordered to be deported to Bulgaria. However, the Bavarian authorities – responsible for carrying out the deportation – were informed of this order only a few weeks later and just six days before the deadline for deportation to Bulgaria. Expulsion in such a short time was not possible.
After this failure, BAMF did not make a decision on the man's asylum application until December last year. –The responsibility for this lies solely with BAMF – Herrmann said.
In response to statements by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that the authorities must quickly clarify the matter, the head of the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior stated that the chancellor "can fully engage with his own offices here". Before the attack in Aschaffenburg, the suspect was waiting for his Afghan documents. Deporting him to Afghanistan was not possible – Herrmann explained.
