Germany (catch all, incl. terrorism)

[AdamG]

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police seized large quantities of guns and ammunition in raids on four locations in Berlin linked to a 40-year-old German man with suspected Islamist ties, the Berlin prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday.

The man, a German citizen with a Turkish background, had previously been convicted of weapons violations, and frequented a mosque which was under surveillance by state security, said prosecutor spokeswoman Silke Becker.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ge...KBN1CU0W3?il=0

[davidbfpo]

More revelations about the Berlin truck attacker, just as the first anniversary comes, on the 19th December. The title and sub-title says enough:

Christmas market terrorist Anis Amri may have been used as 'lure': German newspaper According to data obtained by Welt newspaper, German authorities knew more than a year in advance that Anis Amri presented a clear danger. Intelligence services may have hoped that he would lead them to other terrorists.

Link:http://www.dw.com/en/christmas-marke...per/a-41828681

[davidbfpo]

Odd timing for such an article after recent publicity over the mistakes made, but this is Germany. At a minimum it is a pointer to the assessment tool developed and in use. Here is a key phrase:

But it's no great skill to identify people who are highly violent...The skill is in categorizing the people who are not dangerous among the people defined as endangerers.

Link:http://www.dw.com/en/only-half-of-da...ce/a-41848406?

[davidbfpo]

Via Twitter @Joseph_Roehmel reports:

Majority of German foreign fighter returnees walk free due to lack of evidences and incentives for key witnesses. State of Bavaria, for example, imprisoned 3 of 22 returnees, Hamburg only 1 of 25!

[AdamG]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel made a major concession to Europe's populist movement this week when she admitted the existence of so-called “no-go zones” in Germany.
Conservatives and populists have long warned of the existence of such zones as the partial consequence of mass Muslim migration from the Middle East and Africa, particularly after Merkel opened Germany’s borders in 2015 as a response to the Syrian refugee crisis. Such areas are said to be dogged by high-levels of crime and are described as "no-go zones" because outsiders, including police and other authorities, are unable to enter.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/03...n-germany.html

By The Associated Press
BERLIN — Feb 28, 2018, 11:58 AM ET

In an interview Monday with German broadcaster n-tv, Merkel said she favors a zero tolerance policy on crime and that includes preventing no-go areas, "that's areas where nobody dares to go."
She added: "There are such areas and one has to call them by their name and do something about them."
Asked to name the areas, Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters Wednesday that "the chancellor's words speak for themselves."

https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/201...-go-areas.html

[davidbfpo]

With almost no reporting outside Germany a year long trial of the 'Freital Group' ended today, after lengthy legal arguments:

Eight people have been found guilty of numerous crimes including deliberate attacks on refugee shelters in Germany. After a yearlong trial, the legal points hinged on the very nature of the group's structure and intent.

Link:http://www.dw.com/en/freital-group-members-found-guilty-of-terror-related-crimes/a-42852954?

[AdamG]

BERLIN (AP) — Six people were detained in connection with what police and prosecutors allege was a plan to carry out an attack on Berlin's half-marathon Sunday, German authorities said. A police spokesman later said that no athletes or spectators had been in danger.

The German daily Die Welt first reported that police foiled a plot to attack race spectators and participants with knives.The main suspect allegedly knew Anis Amri, a Tunisian who killed 12 people and injured dozens more when he drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin in December 2016, Die Welt reported.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/german-me...145628100.html

Moderator adds: all six men were released without charge.