Terrorism - Attack on Christmas market planned: Iraqi deported
A 20-year-old Iraqi who is said to have planned a terrorist attack over the Christmas period was deported to his country of origin on Friday evening. This was announced by the Ministry of the Interior in Saxony-Anhalt on Saturday. The deportation was accompanied by an indefinite ban on entry and residence.
The 20-year-old was taken into custody in Helmstedt on November 21. According to the State Criminal Police Office of Lower Saxony, the police had indications that the man had planned a serious act of violence. He is said to have planned to attack visitors to a Christmas market. The man lived in Saxony-Anhalt and worked in Lower Saxony.
"Thanks to the high level of vigilance of the security authorities, plans for an attack were thwarted. The successful deportation is the result of very well-functioning cooperation between several authorities," said Saxony-Anhalt Interior Minister Tamara Zieschang (CDU).
Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Daniela Behrens(SPD) explained that a serious threat had been successfully averted. "We will remain vigilant in the future and will not let up in our efforts to protect our citizens. Because the truth is: the general threat situation remains tense."
Rüdiger Erben, a member of the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament, called for a reform of the law on Saturday. "If the terror suspect had been arrested at his home in Oschersleben in Saxony-Anhalt and not at his place of work in Lower Saxony, he would have had to be released from custody after just four days," the SPD politician told the German Press Agency. "That would have been a problem." A regulation for terror suspects is needed in the law that allows for longer detention.
The four-day rule is enshrined in the country's law on public safety and order. It states: "The maximum permissible period of deprivation of liberty must be determined in the judicial decision; it may not exceed four days." Erben said that this regulation currently applies to terror suspects as well as climate change offenders.
The domestic policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group called for a regulation similar to that in Lower Saxony, where there are stricter regulations for terror suspects. In order to prevent a specifically planned and prepared terrorist attack, suspects there can be detained in police custody for a maximum of 35 days.
According to the Ministry of the Interior in Saxony-Anhalt, it is already working on an amendment to the law. The draft envisages an extension of the maximum period of police custody from four days to one month. There should also be the possibility of a one-off extension of up to one month, it said. "The state police must be given improved options for action to ward off terrorist threats. This includes, in particular, the extension of police detention from four days to one month," Interior Minister Zieschang told dpa. "I will be pleased if this proposal receives support in parliament."
In one case from the summer of 2023, the four days in Saxony-Anhalt were not enough to sufficiently consolidate the criminal investigation or to organize the conditions for the deportation or voluntary departure of the dangerous person. According to the Ministry of the Interior, the person concerned was initially released before being returned to his country of origin and "accompanied 24/7 by intensive police personnel".
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- Despite the successful deportation, Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Daniela Behrens warned of the tense general threat situation, emphasizing the need for continued vigilance and protection of citizens.
- The 20-year-old Iraqi, who was planning a terrorist attack over the Christmas period, lived in Saxony-Anhalt and worked in Lower Saxony.
- The State Criminal Police Office of Lower Saxony had indications that the man had planned to attack visitors to a Christmas market.
- The indefinite ban on entry and residence was part of the Iraqi's deportation, which was carried out by the Ministry of the Interior in Saxony-Anhalt.
- Rüdiger Erben, a member of the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament, called for a reform of the law to allow for longer detention of terror suspects.
- The regulation in the country's law on public safety and order currently allows for a maximum of four days of deprivation of liberty, which applies to terror suspects as well as climate change offenders.
- According to Erben, if the Iraqi had been arrested at his home in Saxony-Anhalt, he would have had to be released from custody after just four days.
- The Ministry of the Interior in Saxony-Anhalt is working on an amendment to the law to extend the maximum period of police custody from four days to one month.
- In one case from the summer of 2023, the four days in Saxony-Anhalt were not enough to sufficiently consolidate the criminal investigation or to organize the conditions for the deportation or voluntary departure of a dangerous foreigner.
Source: www.stern.de
