An Afghan rapist who spent 70 percent of his time in Austria behind bars has been deported after serving his latest prison sentence, authorities confirmed, with the 30-year-old arriving in Kabul in the early hours following his departure.
As reported by Heute, the man had lived in Austria for almost 10 years, seven of which were spent in prison following multiple convictions, including rape, attempted rape, and grievous bodily harm. Immediately after his release, he left the country under a system allowing voluntary, supervised departure.
According to the Interior Ministry, the arrangement allows deportees to leave independently once conditions are met, often after half of a sentence has been served, reducing costs associated with continued detention or forced deportation.
Authorities say the man was convicted in four separate cases of sexual and bodily assault, as well as making criminal threats. His rap sheet had a total of 12 entries, and he is now permanently banned from Austria.
Government figures cited by Heute show roughly 3,300 criminal offenders were removed from Austria last year, and Vienna has been attempting to increase deportations to countries such as Afghanistan and Syria after years of legal hurdles.
However, deportations remain complex. Last summer, the European Court of Human Rights issued interim measures halting removals to Syria, and in August ruled that a country can only be classified as safe for deportations if it provides effective protection for all population groups, based on transparent and publicly accessible information.
Austria resumed deportations to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan last year, triggering sharp criticism from human rights organizations. In October, Vienna deported another Afghan national convicted of rape and grievous bodily harm, marking the first such removal since the Taliban regained power in 2021.
Amnesty International condemned that deportation as a “clear betrayal of human rights,” accusing Austrian authorities of undermining international obligations. Aimée Stuflesser, the organization’s asylum spokesperson, said, “Politics that deport responsibility is giving itself up! Anyone who extradites people to a state that commits crimes against its population is breaking the law. This betrayal of human rights must be stopped immediately!”
The Interior Ministry rejected the criticism, insisting deportations of convicted criminals would continue regardless of conditions in their countries of origin. Karner said Austria would “not offer safe haven to violent offenders.”
Chancellor Christian Stocker also defended the policy, writing that “those who do not abide by our rules must leave,” describing it as a “clear message from Austria: zero tolerance for those who have forfeited their right to stay through criminal acts.”
The Freedom Party (FPÖ), currently Austria’s largest parliamentary party, heavily criticized Amnesty International’s opposition, calling it “an unbelievable and perverse act of perpetrator worship.”
“If an NGO has a problem with a convicted rapist having to leave our country, then this organization clearly also has a problem with our constitutional state and our laws,” said FPÖ General Secretary Michael Schnedlitz. “This is a mockery of the victims and a slap in the face of our society. Anyone who murders, rapes, or robs here has forfeited their right of hospitality.”
