Two Terror Arrests in Germany

Below are two articles about terror arrests in Germany. The first group of arrests took place on Thursday in Cologne.

Many thanks to Egri Nök for translating this article from Express.de:

Arrest in Cologne: Terror Suspects wanted to blow up policemen

by Carsten Rust and Sophie Böckmann
April 14, 2017

Police special forces arrested three terror suspects in Cologne, Bünde (Westphalia) and Hildesheim. They allegedly assisted the Salafist Sascha L. (26) in Northeim to plan and prepare a grave subversive criminal act.

One arrest in Cologne

One of the suspects is the Turkish national Alpaslan U. (27), who was arrested in Cologne. The investigators arrested the Afghan Masie S. (27) in Bünde, and the German Yasemin T. (25) in Hildesheim.

Sascha L. had already been arrested on February 21 in his apartment in Northeim (Lower Saxony). The investigators found chemicals and supplies for making bombs at the scene.

Evidence seized

L. allegedly planned to blow policemen and soldiers in Germany to pieces. The three helpers arrested Thursday evening allegedly assisted him in his plan.

During the raids on the apartments, extensive evidence was seized which is now being examined by specialists.

Investigations ongoing

The General State Prosecutor responsible for this case in Celle is not releasing further details for reasons of investigational tactics.

The second article (also translated by Egri) is from the Kronen Zeitung, and concerns arrests in Saxony that prevented an imminent attack in Berlin:

Moroccan detained

Berlin: Terror attack thwarted at the last moment

In Germany, it appears, a terror attack was prevented at the last moment. The alleged attacker, a 25-year-old Moroccan, was arrested only few hours before the deed — in a refugee accommodation in Saxony.

In the night between Friday and Saturday, special forces arrested the man during an anti-terror operation in a refugee shelter in Borsdorf in Leipzig. According to the Leipziger Volkszeitung, the attack was to take place this Saturday in Berlin.

The State Office of Criminal Investigations received “clues to a planned crime and the perpetrator” on Friday evening. A special unit was formed during the night, and in the early morning hours the suspect was arrested. According to eye witnesses, the police arrived in force around 3am at the container accommodation in the municipality of 8,000 people.

Bomb threat to a school at the beginning of February

According to the newspaper, the 25-year-old Moroccan is the same man who caused a large action early February with a bomb threat. Back then, he warned two pupils in front of the Bildungs- und Technologiezentrum in Borsdorf against entering the school, because he had a bomb in his backpack. The pupils immediately raised the alarm, the area was evacuated.

Back then the man was described as southern-looking, around 1.80 meters tall (5’ 10”) and between 30 and 35 years old. He had dark hair and a dark beard. At that time the suspect could not be found, and explosives weren’t found, either.

“There are criminals among foreigners just as among Germans”

The refugee shelter can accommodate up to 120 asylum seekers, but it is not fully occupied at the moment. The arrest does not change the current situation for the mayor of Borsdorf. “One thing has nothing to do with the other,” Ludwig Martin says to the Leipziger Volkszeitung. “There are criminals among foreigners, just as among Germans.”

One thought on “Two Terror Arrests in Germany

  1. Yes indeed, Herr Martin, “there are criminals among foreigners, just as among Germans.” Just check the statistics, mein lieber Herr, and you’ll find these people are *disproportionately* represented, in terms of their proportion in the population as a whole. Take into account too the parallel justice system, whereby foreign offenders (nein, mein Herr, not “new Germans”) are, time and time again, merely slapped on the wrist while native Germans receive heavier sentences foe similar crimes.

    Herr Martin, you just don’t get it, do you? Will you ever? I fear not.

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