Constitutional Court mandates Germany to accept former Afghan judge

The Constitutional Court has mandated that Germany immediately allow entry to a former Afghan Supreme Court judge and his family, according to an urgent ruling released on Thursday. The Karlsruhe-based court bypassed the typical procedure of sending the case back to the Berlin-Brandenburg administrative court that had previously handled it, citing the "special urgency" and "exceptional nature" of the situation.

The case involves the judge, his wife, and their four children, who had filed an emergency appeal in Karlsruhe with the support of the GFF human rights organization to obtain provisional visas for Germany. The family has been waiting in Pakistan for over two and a half years.

In 2022, the German Interior Ministry added the family to a "bridging list," and in July 2025, the Foreign Office confirmed there were no security objections. Despite this, the Berlin-Brandenburg court had denied their urgent request.

Since taking office in early May, Chancellor Friedrich Merz's coalition had temporarily paused migrant intake programs. In recent weeks, several flights have brought Afghans from Pakistan who were approved for resettlement in Germany. Nearly 1,900 Afghans are currently awaiting admission under various programs, including personnel who assisted German officials during the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan, from which Germany withdrew more than four years ago before the Taliban regained control.

Author: Harper Simmons