News: Europe

Academics & Education

Czech Supreme Court rules in favor of Somali girl barred from wearing hijab at Prague school The Czech Republic must accept and tolerate religious pluralism, and neither discriminate against any religion nor favour it unless it has a special reason, the court said

December 6, 2019   

(Expats.cz) A Somali girl who wanted to wear hijab at a Prague secondary nursing school but was banned to do so in 2013 had the right to wear it, the Czech Supreme Court ruled in its verdict that has been released on […]

Government & Politics

Germany deported more than 90 ‘potential terrorists’ Since 2016, Germany has deported a number of people suspected of being willing or capable of carrying out terrorist attacks. The government figures were released in response to a parliamentary inquiry.

December 6, 2019   

(Deutsche Welle) Germany has deported 90 “Gefährder” and other “relevant persons” since the 2016 attack on a Berlin Christmas market, according to German newsmagazine Der Spiegel, which cited a government response to a parliamentary inquiry on Friday. In Germany a “Gefährder” (lit. “endangerer”) […]

Demonstrations

Iranian journalists in Europe face threats and harassment from regime in Tehran Many Iranian journalists working for foreign media outlets say officials back home are harassing their family members in an attempt to silence critical reporting from abroad. DW spoke to some of the affected journalists.

December 5, 2019   

(Deutsche Welle) Some Iranian journalists living and working abroad have been getting bad news when calling home after discovering that parents and siblings have been interrogated and detained. For years, Iranian authorities have been putting pressure on family members to silence critical journalists […]

Crime

Germany: Dangerous criminals to be deported to Syria? The German Foreign Ministry says risks are still too great to send migrants back to Syria. But Germany's state interior ministers have said they have agreed to return felons convicted of serious crimes.

December 5, 2019   

(Deutsche Welle) Interior ministers from Germany’s 16 federal states agreed at their annual meeting Thursday to relax a moratorium on deportations to Syria. The chairman of the “Innenministerkonferenz” (interior ministers’ conference), Hans-Joachim Grote said there was cross-party consensus. “The ban on deportations […]

Crime

Islamophobia poses ‘real danger’: German official Germany's Muslim community 'not feeling safe enough' amid growing far-right hate crimes, says integration minister

December 3, 2019   

(Anadolu) Germany’s integration minister on Tuesday expressed concern over Islamophobia, warning that it poses a “real danger” to social cohesion. Presenting the annual government report on the state of integration in the capital Berlin, Annette Widmann-Mauz said: “Right-wing extremism, anti-Semitism, and hostility […]

Government & Politics

Turkey repatriates 5 foreign terrorists to Germany Extradition of foreign terrorist fighters to their countries continues, says Turkish Interior Ministry

December 3, 2019   

(Anadolu) Turkey repatriated five foreign terrorist fighters to Germany on Tuesday, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. The ministry said the German nationals were sent back to their countries of origin as part of Turkey’s ramped-up efforts to repatriate foreign terrorist […]

Government & Politics

Report: Hezbollah uses Germany as hub for terror The Lebanese Shi’ite terrorist organization’s operations in Europe include drug-trafficking, money-laundering, recruitment and fundraising, according to German security sources.

December 2, 2019   

(JNS) As many as 1,050 Hezbollah members and supporters reside in Germany, and the organization uses the country as a major hub for its activities, German daily Tagesspiegel reported last week, citing security sources. The Lebanese Shi’ite terrorist group’s operations in Europe […]

Immigration

Germany: Thousands of migrants return after deportation, report says Thousands of asylum-seekers in Germany have returned multiple times after deportation, according to a report in German media. Those with entry bans often serve a few months in jail or are not arrested at all.

December 1, 2019   

(Deutsche Welle) Thousands of migrants in Germany have applied for asylum multiple times and return to the country after having been deported, according to a report by German newspaper Die Welt am Sonntag published on Sunday. There are nearly 5,000 asylum-seekers who […]

Government & Politics

Terrorists should ‘not necessarily’ serve full jail term, says Jeremy Corbyn The father of terror victim Jack Merritt does not wish his son's death to be 'used as a pretext for more draconian sentences.'

December 1, 2019 and   

(Sky News) Jeremy Corbyn has told Sky News that convicted terrorists should “not necessarily” automatically serve their full prison sentences. The Labour leader’s comment comes in the wake of Friday’s London Bridge terror attack, which left two people dead. The attacker, 28-year-old […]

Books

Controversial German ex-politician’s speech canceled after threats Social Democrat politician Thilo Sarrazin, who has written several books criticizing Islam, was due to appear in Bremen. Local media said staff were put under pressure to drop the event amid planned left-wing protests.

November 30, 2019   

(Deutsche Welle) Thilo Sarrazin, who has been accused by Islamic organizations of racism and damaging Germany’s reputation, will no longer appear at a private business club in the northwestern city of Bremen next month. The Weser-Kurier newspaper cited organizers as saying the […]