Swiss court upholds removal of young Afghan man
Thursday 20th August 2026 on 09:30 in
Switzerland
Switzerland’s Federal Administrative Court has upheld the removal of a young Afghan man, ruling that his return is reasonable and creating a precedent for similar cases, SRF reported.
The court said the man was not at particular risk under Taliban rule. He is young and healthy, has professional experience, strong family ties in Afghanistan and belongs to the Pashtun ethnic group, the country’s largest ethnic group.
The Swiss Refugee Council disagrees with the ruling. Its spokesperson Eliane Engeler said the Taliban’s rule was arbitrary and that returning many Afghans was highly dangerous. She said the risk of mistreatment and other human rights violations could not be ruled out.
People returning from the West were also viewed with suspicion by the Taliban and could face greater risks, Engeler said. The refugee organisation therefore criticised the Swiss government’s policy, which the court’s ruling supports.
The State Secretariat for Migration changed its policy in spring 2025. Since April that year, it has ordered the removal of rejected Afghan asylum seekers under certain conditions. The measure has so far applied to around 320 Afghan men. Previously, rejected asylum seekers from Afghanistan had been provisionally admitted after the Taliban took power in 2021.
The court said removals to Afghanistan were generally unreasonable across the country without the individual circumstances identified in this case. It cited the particularly precarious human rights situation facing women and religious and ethnic minorities, as well as a worrying socioeconomic and humanitarian situation.
The ruling is significant because it is the first time the court has addressed the migration authority’s revised policy on removals to Afghanistan. More than 200 appeals by Afghan men are currently pending before the court. Each case will now be examined and decided individually, the migration authority said.
It remains unclear how many rejected asylum seekers will ultimately be deported to Afghanistan. The migration authority said it would return them on deportation flights and was in close contact with German authorities. Joint removals, including by charter flight, could be considered if necessary.