Illegal Activities - Calls for expulsions follow knife assault in Mannheim.
Following a lethal knife assault in Mannheim, demands for stricter deportations of foreign criminals are mounting. The proposal by Hamburg's Interior Senator Andy Grote (SPD) to deport heavily criminal foreigners to Afghanistan and Syria in the future is backed by several union-led states. FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr offered a similar sentiment, suggesting that individuals who become overtly Islamist should be deported to countries like Afghanistan.
In this horrific incident, a 25-year-old Afghan individual pulled out a knife at an anti-Islam gathering in the Mannheim market square and inflicted injuries on six men, including a police officer. Tragically, the 29-year-old officer passed away from his injuries. Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann shared on platform X that there is now evidence of an Islamic motive.
Prior to this incident, the Federal Prosecutor's Office announced their suspicion of a religious motive by the perpetrator and took charge of the case. A spokeswoman detailed, "We suspect that the man intended to impede Islam-critical individuals from expressing their opinions freely."
The incident has sparked a heated debate on addressing Islamism and foreign criminals. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) will be delivering a government statement on the existing security situation in the Bundestag on Thursday. This revelation is from a letter from the Chancellery to Bundestag President Bärbel Bas (SPD) obtained by dpa. The focal point remains unclear - whether it will lean towards internal or external politics.
Potential deportations to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan?
Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) appealed to the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND), "The conditions must be developed for returning criminals and dangerous individuals to Syria and Afghanistan - with due consideration of constitutional basic and human rights and differentiated treatment of individual cases." The Federal Government frequently cites a lack of diplomatic connections - this is unacceptable.
For the upcoming Interior Minister Conference (IMK), a Hamburg proposal surfaces. The round should request the Federal Interior Ministry to reconsider the safety conditions in Afghanistan and Damascus. Senator Grote stated, "We have to figure out a way to resume deportations of criminals and dangerous individuals and Islamist enemies of the constitution to Afghanistan."
"Too late, but at least," remarked Saxony's Interior Minister Armin Schuster (CDU) to RND. "If Hamburg and the SPD had heeded the union-led states' recommendations last year, there would already be deportations to Afghanistan and Syria."
After Mannheim: The Interior Ministry confronts challenging issues
From the Federal Interior Ministry, it was stated that Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) is considering ways to restore deportations of criminals and hazardous individuals to Afghanistan. In these cases, German security interests must surpass staying interests of the affected person. In light of the formidable security situation and the fact that there's no recognized government in Afghanistan, difficult questions need to be addressed.
In Afghanistan, the Islamist Taliban assumed power in the summer of 2021, and in Syria, President Bashar al-Assad fiercely suppressed protests in 2011 - with the civil war ongoing.
The head of the IMK, Brandenburg's Interior Minister Michael Stübgen (CDU), spoke with RND, "The debate over deporting serious criminals to countries like Afghanistan and Syria has existed for a while. If we can reach a consensus on this matter, that would be great." Nonetheless, it should be realized that "we can't resolve all problems through deportations alone."
The CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann advocated for a plan titled "Political Islam" in a guest article in the "Welt." He advocated for the ban of Islamist organizations, while calls for a caliphate should be handled under criminal law. Additionally, "Anyone coming to our country as a guest or asylum seeker who disobeys our legal order and tramples on our values has forfeited their guest status."
As a response to the tragedy in Mannheim, calls for knife restrictions in certain areas are also heard. Andrea Lindholz (CSU), deputy Union faction leader, expressed, "Carrying knives should be prohibited in locations where many people gather - for example, in queues or at train stations. These locations are especially problematic."
8,000 people united for a memorial event for the slain police officer. Over 8,000 people convened on Monday evening for a memorial event in Mannheim. Baden-Württemberg's Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) and Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser also paid their respects by laying flowers.
The assailant wounded five participants in a Pax Europa and police demonstration with a knife. Reports indicate that another officer took down the perpetrator, who is allegedly unresponsive and incapable of being interrogate.
In 2013, the suspect arrived in Germany as a teenager and made an asylum claim. His application was turned down the following year. However, to prevent his deportation, a ban was imposed, presumably because of his young age. He used to reside in Heppenheim, Hesse, with his wife and two kids before the incident happened. Intelligence circles claim that he wasn't flagged as criminal or extremist before the event.
