Crime - Christmas market attack planned? 20-year-old in custody
The 20-year-old who allegedly planned a terrorist attack on a Christmas market will remain in custody for the time being. This was decided by the competent district court, the State Criminal Police Office of Lower Saxony announced on Tuesday. The LKA did not want to give any further details for tactical investigative reasons. The man from Saxony-Anhalt was taken into custody in Helmstedt on November 21 - following indications of a serious act of violence. The NDR had previously reported.
According to earlier information, investigators considered the Christmas market in Hanover to be a possible target for an attack - "we cannot rule that out at the moment", said a spokesperson for the LKA. According to information from security circles, the young Iraqi, who had only been in Germany since last year and had found a job in Lower Saxony, had thought about attacking visitors to a Christmas market with a knife.
Most recently, two young people aged 15 and 16 were arrested in North Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg for allegedly planning an attack on a Christmas market. They are said to have sympathized with the terrorist organization Islamic State.
According to the Ministry of the Interior of Lower Saxony, preventive detention can initially last 14 days following a judicial decision. This can be extended by a further 14 days following a review by a judge. In the context of averting danger, a final extension of seven days is therefore possible.
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The local court granted the LKA Lower Saxony the authority to keep the 20-year-old in custody due to alleged terrorist plans against a Christmas market. Authorities in Lower Saxony considered Hanover's Christmas market as a potential target for violence, although they couldn't rule it out definitively. Criminality related to Christmas markets seems to be a concern in Germany, as two teenagers were previously arrested in North Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg for planning an attack. The LKA in Lower Saxony has the power to keep individuals in pre-trial detention for up to 49 days, if deemed necessary to prevent danger. Despite the stringent measures, the NDR reported an arrest in Helmstedt regarding a potential threat to a Christmas market.
Source: www.stern.de
