Solingen knife attack prompts tough security measures

On August 23, an alleged follower of the so-called "Islamic State" extremist group stabbed three people to death at a city festival in Solingen, a city east of Düsseldorf in North Rhine-Westphalia. The attack reignited an ongoing debate on illegal immigration and weapons legislation.

Now the German government is taking action: It is planning stricter gun laws, faster deportations of rejected asylum seekers who have committed crimes and cutting social benefits.

"Knives have no place at public festivals, sporting events or other similar public events. That's why we're introducing a ban on knives," said Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. At train stations, which are often hotspots for crime, the police will also soon be able to prevent people from carrying knives. And a general ban is planned for long-distance trains.

The Interior Minister wants to give security authorities additional powers and allow people to be searched for unauthorized possession of weapons even without grounds for suspicion.

Faeser also plans to establish higher hurdles for obtaining a gun license. Police and customs authorities will screen anyone who submits an application.

The Internet is also to be monitored more closely. With the help of facial recognition programs, the German government wants to empower security authorities to scour the Internet. Social media will be particularly in focus. "This will make it possible to identify suspects or wanted persons more quickly," Faeser said.

However, the head of the police union, Jochen Kopelke, described the raft of measures as falling short of expectations, particularly concerning weapons legislation.

Cracking down on rejected asylum seekers

Justice Minister Marco Buschmann explained the consequences for refugees and asylum seekers: "Anyone who attacks or threatens people with a knife in Germany must be deported quickly. And that is why we will establish relevant regulations for deportations. And this will also apply to young people."

In future, asylum seekers who first applied for asylum in another European Union (EU) country are to be excluded from social benefits in Germany. The alleged Solingen attacker, Issa Al H., would have been such a case. He had applied for asylum in Bulgaria before traveling on to Germany. But when authorities went to his refugee accommodation to put him on a plane back to Bulgaria, he could not be found.

Buschmann and Faeser also reaffirmed their intention to deport serious criminals and suspected terrorists to Syria and Afghanistan. Germany has no diplomatic relations with either country, which poses a challenge.

On Friday morning, following months of negotiations, Germany deported 28 criminal offenders of Afghan nationality. They were put on a charter plane in Leipzig bound for Kabul. It is the first deportation of Afghans back to their home country since the Taliban took power in Kabul in August 2021.

Human rights organizations such as Pro Asyl are of the opinion that deportations to Afghanistan and Syria are unconstitutional. "International law clearly prohibits any deportations to these two countries. Torture and inhumane punishments are a real threat in both countries," explained Pro Asyl after the terrorist attack in Solingen.

In the past, several conservative and far-right politicians have been pointing out that there have been cases of Afghan or Syrian refugees who returned to their home country on vacations to visit their families, returning safely to Germany. These individuals will now also face deportation. "Anyone who takes a vacation back to their home country although they have previously stated that they cannot stay there safely is being inconsistent and must lose their protection status," Justice Minister Buschmann said.

The conservative opposition was not impressed with the security package. Thorsten Frei, Parliamentary Secretary of the CDU/CSU group in the Bundestag, told the mass-circulation Bild that the proposals would not lead to a fundamental change in migration policy and internal security.

Task force to combat Islamism

There also will be a new task force to deal with Islamism. "The focus will be to fight the radicalization of individual offenders on the internet," said Faeser.

Thomas Mücke from the Violence Prevention Network (VPN) in Berlin welcomed the news. His organization targets people who are active in extremist circles or are in prison for criminal offenses. Deradicalization work has become highly professionalized in recent years, he told DW.

"We know exactly how to work with people to get them out of the radical scene," Mücke emphasized. He stressed that his organization works well with the security authorities and has been successful. The VPN has worked with German nationals returning home after having joined the terrorist organization "Islamic State" (IS).

Mücke argues that this should also give the German government hope that the counterterrorism measures it has launched can succeed in the long term.

Mücke worked with the first IS returnee back in 2014: "When you see how he lives today and is integrated into society, you would never think that this is a person who spent time in an IS camp," Mücke said.

This article was originally written in German.

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