The Taliban have likely gained access to sensitive personal data of Afghan citizens, including at-risk individuals, after assuming control of Afghanistan’s consulate in the German city of Bonn, according to a report by Germany’s Tagesschau news outlet.
The report raises serious concerns about the safety of Afghans whose information may now be in the hands of Taliban intelligence, which has been accused of targeting critics and their relatives inside Afghanistan.
According to Tagesschau, the German government was aware of potential risks but, despite warnings from Afghan diplomats and human rights advocates, did not prevent the handover of the consulate to Taliban representatives.
In early October, Taliban-appointed diplomat Said Mustafa and several others reportedly entered the consulate building. At the time, Hamid Nangialay Kabiri, the former consul general, and 22 staff members resigned in protest against Germany’s decision to recognise Taliban representatives in a functional capacity.
Kabiri said the consulate had maintained its independence since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover and had refused to share Afghan citizens’ records with what he called the “illegitimate Taliban group.” He added that all documents and assets had been handed over to Germany’s Foreign Ministry before his departure.
The Tagesschau report said Mustafa’s role extends beyond standard consular duties and includes efforts to align the Bonn consulate’s operations with Taliban policies.
Experts cited by the outlet said the consulate had served as a key data hub for Afghanistan’s diplomatic missions across Europe, Canada and Australia that refused to recognise the Taliban after the collapse of the former Afghan Republic. Its servers reportedly hold a vast digital archive containing passport information, birth and marriage certificates, and official correspondence concerning millions of Afghans abroad.
The report warned that if the Taliban now control these archives, the personal information of dissidents, civil activists and asylum seekers could be exposed to Taliban intelligence networks.
Documents obtained by Germany’s ARD network revealed that Afghan diplomats had warned Berlin in two confidential letters dated February and July 2025 that handing over the Bonn consulate could have “catastrophic consequences” for the safety of Afghan migrants in Europe. The letters highlighted that millions of confidential records would fall under Taliban control if the transfer proceeded.
Germany’s Foreign Ministry has not commented directly on the allegations, saying only that it remains in contact with Afghanistan’s representation and expects it to continue operating under the name and emblem of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the pre-Taliban government.
Tagesschau further reported that after taking control, the Taliban launched a new website for the Bonn consulate that mirrors the design of the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry portal in Kabul. The site no longer references the “Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,” signalling what the outlet described as “new political realities” emerging on German soil, despite Berlin’s official non-recognition of the Taliban government.
Sources told Tagesschau that Taliban-linked representatives, including Asif Abdullah from Afghanistan’s embassy in Berlin, entered the Bonn consulate during the German Unity Day holiday.
The report also said Germany recently allowed two Taliban-appointed diplomats to assume roles in Afghanistan’s missions in Bonn and Berlin in exchange for the Taliban’s cooperation in deporting Afghan asylum seekers from Germany.
