Taliban speech in mosque: No evidence of criminal offense
According to the NRW Ministry of the Interior, nothing criminal was said during the controversial appearance of an Afghan Taliban official in a mosque in Cologne that would have justified police intervention. Video footage of the man's speech had been secured, translated and analyzed, Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) told the Interior Committee of the state parliament in Düsseldorf on Thursday. So far, there are no indications of criminal acts.
According to Reul, the Taliban functionary's speech included a plea for support and aid for Afghanistan. "Now tell me what is terrorist about it," he said. He could do without the presence of a Taliban member, but it was also part of the truth that one had to abide by the law. According to the report, there is no intelligence or police information about the man - the head of the Afghan Food and Drug Authority - in NRW. According to Reul, nothing is known about an extremist orientation of the "Cultural Association of Kunar Youth", which had organized the event. Reul once again referred to the federal government, which must create clear regulations to prevent such performances.
The background to this is a controversial appearance by a high-ranking Taliban official in the Cologne mosque last week, which had caused outrage. The umbrella organization Turkish-Islamic Union of the Institute for Religion (Ditib), in whose mosque in Cologne-Chorweiler the controversial appearance took place, distanced itself from it. As Reul announced on Thursday, a Ditib board member from Cologne was also present at the Taliban appearance.
Despite the controversial Taliban appearance in Cologne's mosque, where a plea for support and aid for Afghanistan was made, no evidence of extremism or criminal acts was found in the analyzed speech. According to Interior Minister Herbert Reul, there is currently no intelligence or police information suggesting an extremist orientation for the Taliban official or the hosting organization.
Source: www.dpa.com
