Constitutional protector on terror threat: Increased threat
Brandenburg's head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Jörg Müller, sees a significantly increased threat from Islamists following the Hamas terror attack on Israel. He told the "Tagesspiegel" (Friday): "We have a very challenging situation due to the multiple crises we have experienced in recent years. At the same time, the situation has been exacerbated by the barbaric attack by Hamas. The danger is real and higher than it has been for a long time."
The constitutional protection officer said: "Brandenburg is not a state where we can speak of a widespread Islamist threat. We have the same threat situation in all federal states, because we don't know in the long term what individual actors are currently emotionalizing and how far they would go. That is the danger."
In the small town of Wittstock in the district of Ostprignitz-Ruppin, a 16-year-old teenager was arrested for allegedly planning a terrorist attack on a Christmas market via the internet together with a teenager from North Rhine-Westphalia. Both were remanded in custody.
The newspaper "Welt am Sonntag" reported that the Cottbus public prosecutor's office brought charges against the teenager from Wittstock in September. When asked, the judicial authorities merely stated that they were not commenting on the matter at present. The youth has reportedly been known to the police for some time. Cottbus is home to the public prosecutor's office specializing in combating computer and data network crime.
The two arrests are a typical case, said Brandenburg's head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Müller. "Two very young suspects who have become radicalized and are probably not yet as ideologically stable as other Islamist actors. It is a great challenge for us to filter out these cases." Brandenburg is not the primary area of action for these threats, but the following applies: "We as Brandenburgers are not free from this danger either."
There are Islamists in all districts, and slightly more in larger cities such as Potsdam and Cottbus. "The total Islamist potential in Brandenburg amounts to 210 people, 80 of whom belong to the so-called Islamist North Caucasian scene, including Chechens. Russian citizens who attract attention as Islamists." This scene can be found in Neuruppin, Prenzlau and Königs Wusterhausen, among other places.
In light of the increasing threat from Islamist extremism, as evidenced by the Hamas terror attack and the arrest of a 16-year-old planning a terrorist attack, the head of Brandenburg's Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Jörg Müller, emphasized the need to address the issue of extremism and terrorism across all federal states. He warned that the danger from extremist groups is real and higher than it has been in a long time, and it's a challenge to identify and monitor potential threats, especially among young radicalized individuals.
Source: www.dpa.com
