From 13 to 15 August 2018 in Germany, a delegation of the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) carried out an ad hoc visit to examine the treatment of foreign nationals during a national return operation by air from Germany to Afghanistan, coordinated by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex).

The CPT’s delegation monitored a charter flight from Munich (Germany) to Kabul (Afghanistan) under the authority of the German Federal Police. The delegation also observed preparations for the return flight, notably at Eichstätt Prison (Centre for detention pending deportation), including the transfer of returnees to the airport by the Bavarian State Police and the hand-over to the Federal Police authorities in charge of the boarding procedures.

This is the fifth time the CPT has examined a removal operation by air. Previously, the CPT has monitored return flights from the United Kingdom in October 2012, from the Netherlands in October 2013, from Italy in December 2015, and from Spain in February 2016. The reports on these four removal operations have been published on the CPT’s website.