After assassination in Halle: More surveillance? Data protection officer considers that a mistake

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) describes right-wing extremism as one of the biggest threats in the country. In order to prevent attacks such as in Halle, the authorities should receive additional competencies for monitoring communication channels. On the other hand, protest is stirring now.

The Federal Data Protection Commissioner Ulrich Kelber warns against further restricting data protection. "The fact that terrorists have not been stopped in recent years, was certainly not too much privacy," he said the "world." Instead of further intervention powers in the fundamental rights of citizens to demand, the policy should reduce existing enforcement deficits and already existing Evaluate your powers. "

A bill by Interior Minister Seehofer (CSU) provides, among other things, more powers for the domestic intelligence service in monitoring encrypted communications and online searches. Kelber criticized, so-called backdoors in encrypted chats "would in doubt not only be used by security authorities, they could also be a gateway for criminals".

Critical are also considerations, "all inclusive to allow the anlasslose and automated evaluation of communication," said Kelber the sheet. That would be according to him "a deep intervention in the fundamental rights also of humans, who let itself predominantly nothing at all to guilt".

A heavily armed man tried Wednesday to invade the synagogue in Halle, where more than 50 believers celebrated the holiday of Yom Kippur. When that failed, he shot a 40-year-old passerby and a man in a nearby kebab store. A 27-year-old German has confessed to the crime and is in custody. He gave anti-Semitic and right-wing extremist motives (read more about the SPIEGEL cover story here).

Special session in the state parliament

In the morning, the interior experts will come together for a special session in the Magdeburg state parliament. They want to know from the state government what is now known about the events and the backgrounds.

Also for police use critical questions are announced. For example, the AFD members of Interior Minister Holger Stahlknecht (CDU) want answers to the reaction speed of the police on the Tattag. There should also be questions about the protection of the Jewish community in Halle so far.