Germany has successfully deported 81 Afghan nationals to Kabul through a landmark "indirect agreement" with the Taliban.
A returns flight left Leipzig airport early on Friday morning carrying Afghan citizens, including violent criminals and sex offenders, according to German outlet Spiegel.
Alexander Dobrindt, Germany's Interior Minister, declared the operation demonstrated his country's "zero tolerance for asylum seekers who commit crimes".
"We have succeeded in organising another deportation flight of Afghan criminals, and in doing so, we are delivering the changes pledged in our coalition agreement," Dobrindt vowed.
"Serious criminal offenders have no right to reside in our country."
The deal, mediated by Qatar, could now establish regular deportation flights between Germany and Afghanistan.
REUTERS
|Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the deal exemplified Germany's 'zero tolerance' approach
And it comes despite how the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) warns it is forbidden to deport someone to a country where they face a "real prospect" of being tortured upon arrival.
But at the same time, Britain is facing down mounting legal pressure to accept tens of thousands of Afghans following a data breach by a British soldier.
Human rights lawyers are preparing to use the ECHR to compel the British Government to resettle Afghans whose names were leaked, exposing them to Taliban reprisals.
They are set to table a judicial review, which will challenge the Ministry of Defence's decision to close the resettlement scheme for affected Afghans, arguing that anyone on the leaked list faces mortal danger.
MoD sources warn that for each legitimate claimant on the list, 15 are fraudulent applications.
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PA
|Human rights lawyers are preparing to use the ECHR to compel the British Government to resettle even more Afghans
But either way, up to 100,000 individuals could pursue claims against the Government on ECHR grounds due to the risk of persecution by the Taliban.
Sean Humber, a partner at law firm Leigh Day, told The Telegraph: "We are looking at possible legal avenues for judicial challenge for people who have been denied relocation and are now finding themselves on the list.
"They are now at an increased risk. As well as the compensation, it's a case of whether the Government should now take action."
The legal challenge will argue that the Rimmer review, which was commissioned to look into the scandal by Labour last year, wrongly concluded that the risk to Afghans on the list was low.
It will claim instead that leaked individuals face violations under Articles 2 and 3 of the ECHR.
REUTERS
|PICTURED: Sir Keir Starmer and Germany's Friedrich Merz at No10. Merz's country is deporting Afghan migrants thanks to a deal with the Taliban, while Starmer's could be forced to take in more
Ministers face a compensation bill potentially reaching £1billion from those named on the leaked list following the lifting of a super-injunction on Tuesday.
Lawyers argue that anyone on the list could qualify for UK resettlement, regardless of their connection to Britain or the validity of their original claim.
A successful judicial review could establish a precedent allowing previously-rejected Afghans to enter Britain if their names appeared on the compromised document.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "These are hypothetical claims, and we will robustly defend against any legal action or compensation.
"The independent Rimmer Review concluded that it is highly unlikely that merely being on the spreadsheet means an individual is more likely to be targeted."