German police detain an Iranian suspected of planning an “Islamist-motivated” attack

First modification: 08/01/2023 – 16:24

A joint press release from the Düsseldorf public prosecutor’s office and the police from the cities of Recklinghausen and Muenster reported the search of the home of the suspected Iranian national who was allegedly planning an “Islamist-motivated attack.”

The police indicated that the Iranian planned a “serious act of violence that endangers the State” after allegedly acquiring cyanide and ricin to commit the attack, for which he could be sentenced between 6 months and 10 years in prison.

“Germany remains a direct target of Islamist terrorist organizations. Islamist-motivated lone perpetrators pose another considerable danger,” German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said after news of the investigation broke.

“For this reason, our security authorities expect an attack to be prepared at any time,” he declared, adding that since 2000 German security authorities have prevented at least 21 Islamist attacks in Germany.

Police seized electronic storage devices at the suspect’s residence, but found neither cyanide nor ricin during the search in Castrop-Rauxel, Holger Heming of the Duesseldorf prosecutor’s office told local television.

Castrop-Rauxel, located in North Rhine-Westphalia, is the most populous state in Germany, whose Interior Minister Herbert Reul stated: “We had a serious alert which led the police to intervene overnight. Authorities are now investigating at full speed”.

It was unclear how far along plans for an attack were and whether the suspect had a specific target.

The alert came from a “friendly state” security agency, authorities said without elaborating. The mass tabloid Bild mentioned that the agency in question was the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“Our security services take any information about Islamist terrorist threats very seriously and act,” Home Secretary Nancy Faser said in a statement.

A second person was detained during the raid, adding that a decision on whether to issue an official arrest warrant would be made at a later date as the investigation continues.

Heming later confirmed that it was the suspect’s brother.

Dpa quoted an unnamed German security official as saying there were no indications the suspect had acted on behalf of the Iranian state, but instead supported a Sunni extremist group. Sunnis are a religious minority in Iran.

a deadly poison

Ricin, found naturally in castor beans, can cause death within 36 to 72 hours after exposure to as little as the head of a pin. So far there is no antidote.

German intelligence services reveal that the number of members or sympathizers of Islamist causes fell by 1.5%, to 28,290 individuals in 2021, citing the “military disintegration” of the Islamic State militant group.

On December 19, 2016, Anis Amri, a Tunisian asylum seeker with Islamist ties, crashed a truck into a busy Christmas market in West Berlin, killing 11 people and injuring dozens.

The news about Sunday’s raids comes a month after German authorities detained 25 members and supporters of a far-right group that prosecutors say was preparing a violent overthrow of the state.

with Reuters