Foreign
The security authorities in Germany on Wednesday said that they had prevented seven attacks since the December 2016 Berlin Christmas market attack
According to the Head of the Federal Criminal Bureau of Investigation (BKA), Holger Muench, the deficiencies in immigration and in the observation and prosecution of the attacker Anis Amri could not happen today,
Muench told Wednesday’s edition of the Rheinische Post newspaper.
There were three major weaknesses back then, he said.
“Firstly, the immigration case against the perpetrator, Amri, was not consistently seen through. That would not happen today,’’ Muench said.
Secondly, the criminal proceedings against Amri in the various federal states had not been combined.
And thirdly, today a people oriented approach is the norm, he added, meaning that it is not just the concrete risk that is assessed, but also the individual person and his or her dangerousness.
“In 2016, there were indications of a possible attack by Amri with rapid-fire guns.
“This suspicion was not borne out. Today, not only this matter, but the person of Amri would be more in focus,’’ Muench said.
The number of Islamist people of interest who are a potential threat has increased more than five-fold since 2013 to around 680 today, Muench said.
Amri hijacked a lorry on December 19, 2016 with which he rammed into the Christmas market in front of Berlin’s Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, killing 12 people.
After the crime, he fled to Italy, where the police shot him four days later. (NAN)
– Oct 23, 2019 @13:41 GMT |
Tags: Germany foiled 7 attacks since Christmas market ramming
