- The SPD advocates for assigning specialized investigators to Solingen.
SPD legislative group head Jochen Ott insists on a prompt investigator to shed light on the terror incident in Solingen. This could enhance the Parliamentary Commission's efficiency and speed, Ott suggested during an extraordinary gathering in the North Rhine-Westphalia legislature in Düsseldorf. "As people demand immediate responses." The entire state deserves clarification.
Besides seeking clarification, Ott attacked the black-green state administration. "It's the inefficient deportation policy of this administration that failed. That was problematic," said the SPD opposition leader. He now anticipates "more introspection and no justifications." Ott fiercely criticized Refugee Minister Josefine Paul (Greens), who only went public days after the incident.
Redesigning ministries
Against the backdrop of numerous unanswered questions, Ott suggested reorganizing the ministries' responsibilities. With a resolution, the SPD calls for integrating the "Migration" department back into the Ministry of the Interior under Minister Paul. "At least, integration should be separated from repatriation," said Ott. The duties of migration and integration were outsourced from the Ministry of the Interior under the black-yellow administration.
In response to the opposition factions of the SPD and FDP, the Interior and Integration Committee of the state parliament convened an extraordinary meeting yesterday to address the attack's repercussions. During the Friday evening festival in Solingen, a man killed three individuals with a knife and wounded eight more.
The suspected perpetrator is the 26-year-old Syrian Issa Al H., currently in custody. The Federal Prosecutor's Office is investigating him, among other things, for murder and suspected association with the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS). The suspect entered Germany via Bulgaria at the end of 2022. According to EU asylum regulations, he should have been sent back to Bulgaria. Nevertheless, this did not occur since the individual was not located on the scheduled date in June 2023.
Ott highlighted that the inefficient deportation policies could have contributed to the Crime, implying a failure in the system. He also proposed a reorganization of ministries, suggesting that the "Migration" department should be integrated back into the Ministry of the Interior and separated from repatriation processes.
