A man was arrested in Saxony-Anhalt on suspicion of terrorism. The police found black powder from the suspect. He is now at large again, there are open questions.
Stendal (dpa) - A 32-year-old was arrested on Friday in Stendal on suspicion of terrorism. Since the suspicion could not initially be confirmed, the man was released at night, as a spokesman for the Stendal police said on Saturday morning.
The police found only small amounts of black powder, said the police spokesman. It will be investigated further in the case.
According to the police, investigations had revealed that the man from the Altmark had said on a phone call to a British friend that he wanted to "produce explosives and kill a large number of civilians in a German city". Because of these statements, there was initially an arrest, in which officials from the State Criminal Police Office were also involved. As the police announced early Saturday morning, the previous investigation revealed that the information about the man could not be confirmed for the time being.
The police from Wales were also involved in the investigation, the police said Stendal. The 32-year-old was arrested without resistance, the use of the SEK had been unspectacular. According to the information, the man had not previously appeared "in this crime area" by the police. "Of course we are checking whether there could be a political connection," said a police spokesman. At first, however, there were no signs of political motivation. The suspect could not be heard because he was under the influence of drugs.