Further alleged IS supporters deported to Germany - Merkel makes promises

Turkey will deport two wives of terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) militants to Germany on Friday. Angela Merkel responds to fears that the deportations could endanger security.

• Three suspected supporters of the jihadist militia "Islamic State" (IS) * were arrested in Offenbach am Main (Hesse) on Tuesday .
• According to the investigative authorities, they are said to have planned a terrorist attack with explosives or firearms in the Rhine-Main area.
• The alleged IS supporters are a German Macedonian descent (24 years) and two Turks (21 and 22 years).
• The 24-year-old main suspect is said to have already procured "basic components for the manufacture of explosives" and searched for firearms on the Internet.
• The investigation against the supporters of the Islamic State has been underway since October 2019, when the first indications were received.
• A family of seven landed in Berlin , which is attributed to the Salafist Mileu.

Update from Thursday, May 28, 2020, 7:00 p.m .:  Almost half a year after the alleged Salafist was arrested, the public prosecutor's office in Frankfurt is now bringing charges. 

The allegations against the 24-year-old Offenbacher are in preparation for a serious act of violence that endangers the state, violation of the War Weapons Control Act as well as declaring willingness to commit a crime and dangerous bodily harm, said spokeswoman for the authority Nadja Niesen on Thursday (May 28, 2020).

Further alleged IS supporters deported to Germany - Merkel makes promises

Update from Friday, November 15, 2:56 pm: According to Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), the German authorities will ensure that Islamists and alleged IS supporters, who are now deporting Turkey to the Federal Republic, are not at risk. These people would be placed in the joint federal and state counter-terrorism center and subjected to a security assessment, said Merkel on Friday in Berlin. "Accordingly, it will of course be ensured that there is no danger from these people." This is the same procedure as for people already living here. If there are security threats, "the normal mechanism is applied".

Further IS supporters deported to Germany - 55-year-old in custody

Update from Friday, November 15, 12:14 p.m .: A man deported from Turkey was arrested on his entry to Germany. The 55-year-old, who arrived on Thursday, is being held in custody because of suspected commercial fraud, the Hildesheim public prosecutor said on Friday. Turkey had announced the deportation of several Islamists and suspected IS supporters who have German citizenship or family members this week. A seven-member German-Iraqi family landed in Berlin on Thursday. It is assigned to the Salafist milieu in Hildesheim. A spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office could not say whether the arrested person was the father of the family.

Disguised officers from a police special unit take a suspect of terrorism to a custody screening at a court in Frankfurt.

© Boris Roessler / dpa

The district court had already issued an arrest warrant for the 55-year-old for six crimes in June and added six more crimes in August. The man is said to have pretended to be a lawyer against asylum seekers and refugees or claimed to have been able to find a lawyer to help with asylum proceedings or to obtain German passports. He is said to have collected a fee for this, but did not provide any consideration.

The accused left Germany in early 2019. The arrest warrant in summer was issued on the grounds of the danger of flight, the prosecutor said. It was assumed that he wanted to avoid criminal proceedings when he left the country.

After arrest of alleged IS supporters: 24-year-old in custody 

Update from Thursday, November 14, 8:05 a.m .: After a large-scale search operation on suspicion of a planned Islamist attack in the Rhine-Main area, a 24-year-old warrant has been issued. There is a risk of escape, said spokeswoman for the Frankfurt prosecutor, Nadja Niesen. His two alleged accomplices, who were also arrested on Tuesday, are again at large. No urgent suspicion was found in them. 

Update from Wednesday, November 12, 3:43 p.m .: The magistrate spoke in detail on Wednesday afternoon about the three alleged IS supporters arrested in Offenbach. "We will not look away and do nothing nice, but draw conclusions for our prevention work," announced Mayor Schwenke. The magistrate said that the possibility that the arrested men came from Offenbach or at least lived there for a long time was of great concern. They wanted to seek an exchange with the investigative authorities. 

Suspected Islamic State (IS) supporter in custody: Offenbach magistrate with "great uncertainty"

"The suspicion that suspected Islamist terrorists have lived among us unsettles and shockes many Offenbach citizens," said Mayor Peter Freier. He was addressed by many people. According to Schwenke, “the incident affects how we live together in our city. The uncertainty is great. ”In addition, the Offenbach magistrate refers to the central contact point for extremism prevention. This is available to all people at offenbach@violence-prevention-network.de for questions about religiously motivated extremism. The full statements of the magistrate are available here. 

Update from Wednesday, November 12, 3:43 p.m .: Arrest warrant was issued on Wednesday afternoon in Frankfurt am Main against one of the three alleged Islamic State (IS) supporters arrested in Offenbach. According to Nadja Niesen, spokeswoman for the Frankfurt public prosecutor's office, the 24-year-old is at risk of fleeing. The other two alleged accomplices, on the other hand, are again at large. 

Statistics prove: Violence against the police increases rapidly *

Update from Wednesday, November 12, 3:03 p.m .: After the arrest of three alleged Islamic State (IS) supporters in Offenbach, there is also the question of how great the threat of Islamist terrorism in Hesse is. The State Office for the Protection of the Constitution (LfV) estimates this to be very high when requested by this newspaper. 

After arrests in Offenbach: the Office for the Protection of the Constitution sees a major threat from Islamism terror in Hesse 

According to the 2018 annual report, 4170 Islamists were observed last year, including 1650 so-called Salafists. "The possibility that terrorist attacks are planned and perpetrated in Germany must still be expected at all times," said the constitutional activists. 

Update from Wednesday, November 12, 2:22 p.m .: The fact that three alleged Islamic State (IS) supporters were arrested by the police in Offenbach is no accident - at least in the opinion of Offenbach Post editor Peter Schulte-Holtey . In his opinion, the Rhein-Main area is a priority area of ​​the Islamist scene, despite all prevention efforts. The entire comment can be read here. *

Update from Wednesday, November 12, 12:05 p.m .: The co-chair of the AfD parliamentary group, Alice Weidel, has commented on the arrests of three alleged IS supporters in Offenbach. On the short news service Twitter, the 40-year-old writes: "A ´German´ Macedonian origin & two Turks, called ´Offenbacher´ by the press, are said to have planned an attack in #Germany. That says everything you need to know about Germany's naturalization policy. ” 

Alice Weidel (AfD) receives criticism after Twitter tweet about arrests in Offenbach

Weidel receives criticism, irritation and agitation mainly because the tweet has the hashtag "State failure". "With early detection and prevention, one can hardly speak of failure," writes one user. "Where did the state fail here ?! Group detained from possible damage and brought to the rule of law. Everything's fine, ”says another. 

Update from Wednesday, November 12, 11:10 a.m .: The Turkish-born CDU member of the state parliament and Islamism expert Ismail Tipi from Heusenstamm also comments on the three alleged Islamic State (IS) supporters * who were arrested in Offenbach. "The fact that these arrests occurred in Offenbach is not a particular problem for the city of Offenbach," said Tipi. The Islamism expert also believes that the “democratic enemies are everywhere in our social center”. 

Update from Wednesday, November 12, 9:55 a.m .: Mayor Felix Schwenke (SPD) is ambivalent about the news that three alleged Islamic State (IS) supporters have been arrested by the police in Offenbach am Main (Hesse) because they are said to have planned an attack. "As a citizen, I'm happy about every IS fighter arrested," said Schwenke. 

Islamic State (IS) supporters arrested in Offenbach: Schwenke (SPD) reacts

According to its own statements, Schwenke has not yet been informed about the use. He therefore did not know whether the men were "through and through Offenbacher", ie had attended kindergarten and school here. Or whether they have only recently been living in the city. The answer to this question is important because it also provides information about whether integration has failed.  By Agnes Schönberger

Update from Wednesday, November 12, 9:37 a.m .:  After the three arrests in Offenbach am Main (Hesse) on suspicion of a planned attack in the Rhine-Main area, the 24-year-old main suspect is to be brought before the judge on Wednesday. It is still unclear whether the two alleged accomplices will be shown, said spokeswoman for the Frankfurt prosecutor, Nadja Niesen, in the morning. 

Nadja Niesen, spokeswoman for the Frankfurt public prosecutor's office, answers questions from media representatives in front of the court center.

© dpa

The three young men are alleged supporters of the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS). They are said to have intended to kill as many people as possible in a religiously motivated attack.

Update from Tuesday, November 12, 4:43 p.m .: The arrest of three suspected Islamic State (IS) supporters is not the first time that the police in Offenbach am Main have had to go out because of representatives of the radical Islamist scene. A chronology of police operations in Offenbach. *

Offenbach: IS supporters arrested in Hesse - they are said to have planned an attack in the Rhine-Main area in Hesse 

Update from Tuesday, November 12, 4:10 p.m .: It has now become known that the authorities have been tracking the alleged Islamic State (IS) supporters arrested in Offenbach since the end of October. Whether all three suspects come before the judge or only the main suspect is to be decided on Wednesday. A demonstration of the 24-year-old was originally planned for Tuesday.

Update from Tuesday, November 12, 2:50 p.m .: After the arrest of three alleged supporters of the Islamic State in Offenbach am Main , the public prosecutor's office in Frankfurt has released further details. According to the investigators' initial findings, there was no concrete target.

"It intervened in time so that a danger could be prevented," said a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office at noon. The spokeswoman did not say how the men relate to each other. It also remained open whether they were already known to be dangerous.

Offenbach am Main (Hessen): Supporters of the Islamic State arrested - allegedly planned to be attacked

First message from Tuesday, November 12, 2019: Offenbach - Did the police prevent a terrorist attack on Tuesday? 170 police officers were deployed in Offenbach. They arrested three IS supporters who were apparently planning an attack with explosives or firearms in the Rhine-Main area. The public prosecutor's office in Frankfurt am Main therefore searched three apartments in Offenbach in southeastern Hesse together with the Hessian State Criminal Police Office on November 12, 2019.

It is about the suspicion of the preparation of a "serious act of violence that endangers the state", reports the public prosecutor's office in Frankfurt. A 24-year-old German Macedonian parentage and two 22- and 21-year-old Turkish nationals have been provisionally arrested.

Offenbach am Main: Islamic State (IS) supporters arrested 

A total of 170 officers from the State Criminal Police Office, the Police Presidium of Southeast Hesse and special forces from the Hesse Police Department were deployed in Offenbach.

The three suspects are said to have identified themselves in the past as witnesses to the terrorist militia "Islamic State" (IS). The public prosecutor says: "They are charged with having made preparations to commit a religiously motivated crime in the Rhein-Main area using explosives or firearms and to kill as many people as possible, so-called unbelievers."

Islamic State (IS) supporters were probably planning a terrorist attack in Hesse

According to the public prosecutor, the 24-year-old main suspect from Offenbach am Main near Frankfurt is "urgently suspected of having already obtained basic components for the manufacture of explosives".

He is also said to have searched for firearms online for the terrorist attack. The emergency services have assured him of various "explosives-relevant substances and equipment" for the bomb construction, the prosecutor says.

During the searches on Tuesday (November 12, 2019), numerous other pieces of evidence were also found, especially written documents and electronic data carriers. These are now being evaluated.

Offenbach am Main: Islamic State (IS) was probably planning an attack: three men arrested in Hesse

The 24-year-old IS supporter from Offenbach will be brought up to the investigating judge at the Frankfurt am Main district court on Tuesday afternoon. The judge will decide whether to issue an arrest warrant and order pre-trial detention.

The three suspected IS supporters are known to the police, but have not yet been identified as so-called threats. These are people who are trusted to commit an attack because of their fanaticism.

Following the frustrated alleged terrorist attacks in Offenbach, an expert is now explaining how young people radicalize.

Just a few months ago, six men were arrested in Frankfurt on a SEK operation on suspicion of terrorism. * The suspects are accused of financing terrorism and making a crime. Three of the men are said to belong to the Salafist scene in the Rhine-Main area.

On Friday, November 16, 2019, a suspected IS supporter was arrested at Frankfurt Airport. 

A convicted Islamist perpetrator from the Werra-Meißner district has been deported back to Iraq.

Offenbach am Main is an independent city in the southeast of Hesse. It is located in the Rhine-Main area and borders directly on Frankfurt am Main. With 128,744 inhabitants, Offenbach is the fifth largest city in Hesse. 

The suspected IS supporter who landed at Frankfurt Airport on Saturday evening is said to be Laura H., a woman from the Gießen area. She has three children with her.

kke

* op-online.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network