Source: Deutsche Welle – Page 2

Is migration the EU’s biggest challenge in 2024? Few topics were as influential in shaping social discourse last year as migration. It's likely to dominate the EU's agenda again in the new year.

January 2, 2024 Lucia Schulten

(Deutsche Welle) The number of asylum applications to the European Union has risen over the past two years. While there were just under 1 million in 2022, the European Union Agency for Asylum has predicted that this mark could now have hit […]

Police ramp up security at Cologne Cathedral for New Year’s German authorities are on high alert following a warning about a possible attack on the Cologne Cathedral on New Year's Eve.

December 30, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Authorities in the German city of Cologne have increased security measures around its cathedral ahead of New Year’s Eve. Police officers armed with submachine guns were being deployed to protect people planning to ring in the new year near the […]

Police in Berlin ban pro-Palestinian New Year rally Authorities in Berlin have said the planned pro-Palestinian rally would carry a risk of 'crimes,' including displays of antisemitism and glorification of violence.

December 30, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Berlin police announced on Saturday that a pro-Palestinian rally scheduled for New Year’s Eve in Berlin’s Neukölln district should not take place. Officials said the decision had been taken because of an imminent danger “that the gathering will result in […]

Germany: Man detained over Cologne Cathedral threat Police said a 30-year-old man would be detained until 7 January. German police had received an alert that a group may be planning an attack on the Cologne Cathedral on New Year's Eve.

December 26, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) German police said on Tuesday they had detained a man in connection with a dangerous threat at the iconic Cologne Cathedral in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Police announced the arrest of five men after searching an apartment in Wesel, some […]

Germany charges 2 Syrians with war crimes over IS ties Authorities accuse the two Syrians in German custody of membership in a terrorist group and having committed war crimes in Damascus a decade ago.

December 22, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) German prosecutors have charged two Syrian men with war crimes they are accused of having committed some 10 years ago in the Syrian capital Damascus, as part of the so-called Islamic State militant group. In line with German privacy rules, the […]

Germany: Ulm synagogue arson trial begins A 47-year-old man is on trial over what is thought to have been an antisemitic arson attack on the synagogue in the southern German city of Ulm in 2021.

December 21, 2023 Timothy Jones

(Deutsche Welle) A 47-year-old Turkish man who is alleged to have carried out an arson attack on a synagogue in Ulm more than two years ago went on trial at the district court in the southern city on Thursday. Prosecutors in the […]

Germany braces for potential New Year’s Eve riots Police have stepped up preparations to deal with violence against them and emergency service staff on New Year's Eve. There are worries that the situation in the Middle East could worsen the problem.

December 21, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said she fears a repeat of New Year rioting and attacks on emergency services in Berlin and other cities. “I’m worried that New Year’s Eve could once again be a day on which we are forced […]

German police raid pro-Palestinian feminist group The raids were part of a probe into allegations that members of the group Zora were using emblems of the PFLP, which Israel, the EU and the US have designated a terrorist organization.

December 20, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Police in Berlin, Germany’s capital, conducted on Wednesday a raid targeting members of a pro-Palestinian, left-wing feminist group, German media reported. The Zora group is accused of backing the radical, left-wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The European […]

Germany deports Iraqi over ‘terror’ suspicion The 20-year-old was suspected of planning a 'terrorist attack' targeting a Christmas market in eastern Germany. He has been permanently banned from reentering the country.

December 16, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) A 20-year-old Iraqi has been deported back to his home country after German authorities suspected he was planning a “terrorist attack,” Germany’s Interior Ministry announced on Saturday. The Interior Ministry of the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt accused the unnamed man of […]

Germany’s CDU redefines stance on Islam in new manifesto Under Friedrich Merz, Germany's Christian Democratic Union is revising its manifesto, sparking controversy with its new stance on Islam and migration. The party's new direction marks a departure from the Merkel era.

December 12, 2023 William Noah Glucroft

(Deutsche Welle) The new color scheme a few months back was only a cosmetic step. Now, Germany’s center-right Christian Democrats are going under the hood. For the first time since 2007, the party that ruled Germany for most of the republic’s young […]

Paty murder trial shines a light on France’s democracy Six minors are standing trial in Paris for their alleged role in the killing of a teacher. But some feel the authorities are missing this opportunity to examine the state of freedom of expression in France.

December 7, 2023 Lisa Louis

(Deutsche Welle) The killing of French history teacher Samuel Paty on October 16, 2020, left the country in deep shock. And yet, some feel the first court case on the alleged role of six minors in the attack is failing to bring about […]

Germany on guard against terrorism Against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war and one-off attacks closer to home, German authorities are confronting a 'complex threat situation.' Some observers warn against exaggerating the danger.

December 5, 2023 William Noah Glucroft

(Deutsche Welle) A handful of isolated but high-profile incidents have put politically motivated crime high on Germany’s security agenda. The renewed fears follow a German tourist getting stabbed to death in Paris last weekend, allegedly by a man with a history of criminal […]

Germany: Teens allegedly planned Christmas market attack Two teenagers arrested this week allegedly planned to set off an explosion at a Christmas market in Leverkusen. Prosecutors said they then planned to join an offshoot of the so-called 'Islamic State' group.

November 30, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Two German teenagers are accused of plotting a terror attack on a Christmas market in the western German city of Leverkusen, German prosecutors said on Thursday. The suspects, a 15-year-old boy in North Rhine-Westphalia and a 16-year-old boy in the […]

German intelligence warns of heightened terror risk Germany's domestic intelligence agency says the danger of a terror attack in the country is 'higher than it has been for a long time.' It cited the October 7 Hamas attacks and the subsequent Israel-Hamas war as factors.

November 29, 2023 Richard Connor

(Deutsche Welle) Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the [Constitution] (BfV) on Wednesday said the danger of an Islamist terror attack on German soil had significantly increased. The agency said the raised risk of attacks against the Jewish community or “the […]

German police raid suspected Hamas and Samidoun properties Berlin had banned activities related to Hamas — a designated terrorist group — and the international pro-Palestinian network Samidoun at the beginning of November.

November 23, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) The German Interior Ministry on Thursday said police had conducted raids on properties in four federal states connected to suspected Hamas and Samidoun members. Germany, along with the US, the EU and others, has designated Hamas a terrorist organization. Samidoun […]

Germany: Faeser seeks Hamas condemnation at Islam conference Germany's interior minister has said she will seek clear positions on Hamas from faith groups at the government's annual Islam conference. Nancy Faeser said they should assume 'their responsibility in society.'

November 21, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) The ongoing conflict in Gaza in the aftermath of Hamas’ October 7 terror attacks against Israel looked sure to overshadow the German government’s annual Islam conference in Berlin on Tuesday. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said ahead of the event on […]

Germany bans Hamas activities, dissolves Samidoun group Germany's Interior Ministry has announced a ban on pro-Palestinian group Samidoun and completely outlawed activities linked to the Islamist militant group Hamas. But what does the tightening of the law mean?

November 2, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Germany has announced a ban on Samidoun, a group that says it advocates for Palestinian prisoners, and imposed further prohibitions to stamp out support for the Islamist militant group Hamas, which Berlin already lists as a terrorist organization. Chancellor Olaf […]

Germany: Duisburg police arrest terror suspect — reports German media reports said the man was planning an attack on a pro-Israel demonstration.

October 24, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Police in the western German city of Duisburg on Tuesday arrested a man who was allegedly planning a terror attack, multiple German media outlets reported. The man was supposedly planning to attack a pro-Israel demonstration with a truck to which he […]

Germany: Trial of Islamist in Duisburg knife attacks begins The trial of a man accused of murder and attempted murder in the German city of Duisburg has begun. The accused individual shocked the court by repeatedly making Islamist gestures and refusing to stand for the judge.

October 23, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) The trial of a 27-year-old Syrian man accused of murder and attempted murder began at the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia on Monday. Federal prosecutors, who took over the case on August […]

Berlin: 174 arrested at unauthorized pro-Palestinian events Clashes broke [out] between police and protesters at an unauthorized demonstration in the Berlin district of Neukölln. At least 65 police officers were injured.

October 19, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) At least 174 people were arrested and 65 police officers were injured at unauthorized pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Berlin on Wednesday night, according to a police spokesperson. Authorities had banned such protests, which have been called in response to the conflict […]

Germany’s first cohort of locally trained imams graduates Germany set up its own training school for imams due to the large number of foreign-trained Islamic religious leaders. The issue now is the lack of jobs for the graduates.

September 30, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Twenty-four Muslims from across Germany formally passed their imam training at the country’s new Islamkolleg Deutschland in the northwestern city of Osnabrück on Saturday. The graduates, who included men and women, received their first certificate of completion after attending a two-year part-time course. […]

German Islamist sentenced to 14 years for killing of girl Former IS member Jennifer W. has had her sentence extended by four years following an appeal by prosecutors. The 32-year-old was found responsible for the death of a Yazidi girl who had been enslaved.

August 29, 2023 Ben Knight and Matthias von Hein

(Deutsche Welle) The Munich state court on Tuesday imposed a new, extended 14-year prison sentence on former “Islamic State” member Jennifer W. for her role in allowing a young Yazidi girl, named only as Rania, to die of thirst in Iraq in […]

Germany sees surge in Turkish asylum seekers A rising number of educated Turkish citizens who oppose the government are heading to Germany. Many are seeking asylum, but German authorities are less inclined to grant it.

August 14, 2023 Elmas Topcu

(Deutsche Welle) “Living in fear and uncertainty every day, expecting the police to come back and snatch us from our beds, take us to the station and torture us … we couldn’t stand it anymore. After the death of my father, we […]

Meet Germany’s first Islamic affairs consultant How can local authorities best understand the various Islamic groups in their communities? Or integrate young Muslims? A German Islamic affairs consultant resolves conflicts between mosque communities and municipalities.

August 13, 2023 Christoph Strack

(Deutsche Welle) There are about 2,800 mosques in Germany. Often, they find themselves at the center of discussions or disputes, especially whenever Islamic houses of worship with distinctive characteristics, such as a tall minaret, appear as part of the cityscape. Although the […]

Germany says Charming Kitten hackers target Iran dissidents Germany's domestic intelligence agency has warned dissident Iranian activists about the threat of cyber espionage against them. The hackers work by gaining the trust of their targets.

August 10, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) on Thursday warned critics of the Iranian leadership living in Germany that they might be targeted by hackers. The agency said the Charming Kitten online espionage group works by building trust […]

Sweden Quran burnings: How the Kremlin benefits The Swedish government is dealing with increased terrorist threats sparked by repeated Quran burnings. Now Russia appears to be instrumentalizing the issue.

August 8, 2023 Teri Schultz

(Deutsche Welle) Husam El Gomati scrolls through his phone and points at a long post in Arabic. “Mohammad Ahmad Ali, the most typical name, with some funny picture,” he notes. Scrolling through the post, El Gomati confirms what he expected: “Yeah, you’re […]

Germany: Woman sentenced for ‘IS’ membership, breach of care The 33-year-old had been accused of going to Syria in 2016 along with her children and joining the terrorist group.

July 17, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) A Frankfurt court on Monday handed a German woman a two-year suspended prison sentence due to her past involvement with the so-called “Islamic State” (IS). “She promoted the organization from within,” the presiding judge said of the 33-year-old woman from the [central […]

Germany: Hostility toward Muslims is widespread How great is the resentment, racism and discrimination against Germany's 5.5 million Muslims? The Federal Interior Ministry's findings paint a bleak picture.

June 29, 2023 Sabine Kinkartz

(Deutsche Welle) A hostile attitude toward Muslims is widespread in large sections of German society. Its manifestations are an everyday reality. One in two people in Germany agrees with anti-Muslim statements. These are the findings published this Thursday (June 29) by the Independent […]

German police swoop on ‘Islamic State’ finance network Police in Germany have carried out raids on the financing network of the so-called 'Islamic State' terror group, arresting several suspects.

May 31, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Prosecutors in Karlsruhe on Wednesday said more than 1,000 federal and state police were involved in raids across several states on an alleged terrorist financing network. Seven suspects were arrested on suspicion of collecting donations and forwarding them to the so-called “Islamic […]

Police raid suspected human traffickers in Berlin, Halle Some 400 police officers have taken part in raids against suspected people smugglers in eastern Germany.

March 15, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) German police carried out a large-scale operation against suspected human traffickers in the capital Berlin and the eastern German city of Halle an der Saale on Wednesday morning. The gang of traffickers is accused of having smuggled mainly Turkish and Iraqi […]

Germany debates tougher deportation rules A deadly knife attack on a German regional train has triggered a debate on deportation laws and their application. The suspect, a Palestinian, was living in Germany despite his criminal record.

January 31, 2023 Volker Witting

(Deutsche Welle) Two weeks ago, a knife attack shook Germany when a man traveling on a regional train headed for Hamburg randomly stabbed passengers, killing two of them. The alleged perpetrator, 33-year-old Ibrahim A.*, was known to the police, as he had multiple prior convictions […]

Does the EU have hijab bans? As women around the world mark World Hijab Day, people are calling on the European Union to create safer spaces for conversations about the Muslim headscarf.

January 31, 2023 Priyanka Shankar

(Deutsche Welle) Across the European Union, the headscarves worn by some Muslim women have been hotly contested for years. Some nations claim hijab bans would tackle religious oppression and terrorism, while others argue bans would discriminate against women’s rights and hamper integration. Some EU countries have already imposed […]

Germany: 2 killed, several injured in train knife attack Two people have been killed and seven wounded in a knife attack on a train in Germany. The attack took place in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein that borders Denmark. A young man is in police custody.

January 25, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) A man with a knife killed two people and wounded seven more on a regional train running from Kiel to Hamburg on Wednesday. A suspect was arrested at a small train station in the town of Brokstedt soon after the […]

Is Islamist terror a threat to Germany? The arrest of two terror suspects once again raises questions about the scope of the terrorist threat to Germany. It also brings back memories of the 2016 Christmas market attack.

January 12, 2023 Marcel Fürstenau

(Deutsche Welle) The most recent arrest of two terror suspects in Germany has raised the specter of Islamist terror in Germany — despite intensified efforts to prevent such an attack in recent years. Two men had intended to kill “an unspecified number of people” […]

German court opens trial of suspected ‘Islamic State’ member A 37-year-old German woman is accused of crimes against humanity for her time with the so-called 'Islamic State.' Nadine K. is accused of 'enslaving' a Yazidi woman in Syria and Iraq.

January 11, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) A court in the western German city of Koblenz on Wednesday began the proceedings against a German national accused of assisting the so-called “Islamic State” (IS) terrorist group in Syria and Iraq. What do we know so far about the […]

Germany: No toxins found in anti-terror garage searches German police have searched two garages in connection with a suspected planned bioweapon attack. A top official has meanwhile criticized Germany's reticence in using the internet for intelligence gathering.

January 9, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Police searches of two garages used by a terrorist suspect in the western German town of Castrop-Rauxel on Monday failed to uncover any hazardous substances, according to authorities. “We have found nothing in the end that can be used as […]

Germany: Bavaria train attacker handed 14-year jail sentence The 28-year-old pulled a knife on four passengers on a high-speed train in the southern state of Bavaria last November. The trial focused on whether his attack was motivated by Islamic extremism or schizophrenia.

December 23, 2022 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) The man who carried out a knife attack on a German high-speed train was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Friday. A court in Munich found that Abdalrahman A. was culpable despite claims he was mentally ill at the time. […]

What’s behind Morocco fan violence in Belgium? It has become somewhat of a pattern that violence breaks out between fans and police in Belgium following Morocco World Cup matches. But what’s fueling the clashes?

December 9, 2022 Aya Ibrahim

(Deutsche Welle) Following Morocco’s World Cup win over Belgium, some Morocco supporters turned violent on the streets of Belgian cities. In Brussels, a car was set ablaze and at least one person was injured. Parts of the capital were sealed off. Police […]

Does Germany’s special network to prevent Islamist extremists’ attacks work? Political and religious extremism has long been seen as a threat to democracy in Germany. The Counter Terrorism Center is where agencies and police network to prevent Islamist extremist attacks. Is it effective?

July 23, 2022 Marcel Fürstenau

(Deutsche Welle) December 19, 2016, was a particularly dark day for Germany’s Joint Counter Terrorism Center. That was the day when the terrorist Anis Amri steered a stolen truck into a crowd of people at the Christmas market on Berlin’s Breitscheidplatz. Twelve […]

Germany: Würzburg attacker still highly dangerous, says doctor A psychiatrist has told a German court that the man accused of carrying out multiple fatal stabbings in June 2021 suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. Three people were killed and nine others were injured in the attack.

July 22, 2022 Nik Martin

(Deutsche Welle) A German court on Friday heard that the man who allegedly killed three people and injured nine others in the southern central city of Würzburg last summer is mentally ill and still very dangerous if he does not undergo successful treatment. Somali national Jibril A., […]

Antisemitism ‘deeply rooted’ in German society A new study has bad news on antisemitism in Germany. Far-right sympathizers and observant Muslims bear the brunt of the blame, but all corners of society have their blindspots.

May 10, 2022 Christoph Strack

(Deutsche Welle) Germany’s security services registered 3,028 antisemitic crimes in 2021. That is the highest official count since police statistics started tracking the figures. Now, the American Jewish Committee contracted the Allensbach Institute to conduct a representative survey on societal attitudes toward […]

IS member arrested in Germany accused of raising funds in Europe According to the German prosecutor's office, the woman traveled to Syria in 2013 with her husband to join the organization.

March 12, 2022 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) A German citizen accused of belonging to the Islamic State (IS) jihadist organization was arrested this Friday upon arrival at the Frankfurt airport (southern Germany), as announced today (03.12.2022) by the State Attorney General’s Office. The woman, who was identified […]

Germany: Suspected ‘IS’ wife charged with war crimes The German national is believed to have married several members of the 'Islamic State' terrorist organization. One of her alleged husbands had kept a Yazidi woman as a slave.

February 9, 2022 Wesley Dockery

(Deutsche Welle) German authorities have pressed war crimes charges against a suspected member of the so-called “Islamic State” (IS), the federal prosecutor general in Karlsruhe announced Wednesday. What do we know so far? The German national, Jalda A., is believed to have married several members of […]

German woman faces crimes against humanity charges after joining IS as a teen A German woman who went to Syria to join the extremist IS group as a 15-year-old is in the dock in the eastern city of Halle. She and her jihadi husband are suspected of having enslaved a Yazidi woman.

January 25, 2022 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) A German woman accused of aiding and abetting crimes against humanity while a member of the extremist “Islamic State” (IS) group in Syria went on trial behind closed doors in the eastern city of Halle on Tuesday. Leonora M., who went to […]

5 years later, Germany remembers victims of Berlin Christmas market terror attack On December 19, 2016, Islamist attacker Anis Amri drove a stolen truck through a crowd in central Berlin, killing and injuring dozens. Five years later, the background to the attack remains unclear.

December 19, 2021 Oliver Pieper

(Deutsche Welle) The bells of Berlin’s Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church on Breitscheidplatz will ring 13 times this Sunday at exactly 8:02 p.m., once for each of the victims of the 2016 terror attack at a nearby Christmas market. The time marks the […]

German police foil terror plot in Hamburg A man with Islamist connections was arrested before he was able to carry out a planned attack. Police found material that could have been used in a potentially deadly bomb.

December 10, 2021 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) German police revealed on Friday that they prevented a planned Islamist attack in the northern city of Hamburg over the summer. Andy Grote, top security official for the city, which like the cities of Berlin and Bremen is a state […]

Many more Afghans seek EU asylum after Taliban takeover Citizens of Afghanistan were by far the biggest group of people applying for asylum in the EU, Switzerland and Norway in September 2021.

December 3, 2021 Darko Janjevic

(Deutsche Welle) Over 17,000 Afghans filed asylum claims in the European Union, Switzerland and Norway in September of 2021, compared to around 10,000 in August, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) said on Friday. This represents a 72% increase compared to August, […]

German court finds former ‘IS’ member guilty of genocide A German court has found a former 'Islamic State' member guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity for the 2015 killing of a 5-year-old girl, sentencing him to life in prison.

November 30, 2021 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Frankfurt’s Higher Regional Court on Tuesday found 29-year-old Taha A.-J. guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity resulting in death, sentencing him to life in prison. The Frankfurt case is the first in the world to decide whether a former member […]

German national gets 10-year sentence for murder committed in Syria German jihadi Nils D. has been found guilty of torturing a man to death while serving as guard at an 'Islamic State' prison.

November 27, 2021 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) A Düsseldorf court has sentenced a German national to 10 years behind bars for murder on Friday. The man, named as Nils D. under German privacy laws, tortured a man to death at a prison run by the so-called “Islamic […]

Germany: Police rule out terrorism in Bavaria train attack The man who stabbed four people on a German train on Saturday is believed to have been suffering from delusions that people were 'following him.' Police have not found any link to terrorist motivation for the attack.

November 7, 2021 Alex Berry

(Deutsche Welle) The man who stabbed four people on a train in the southern state of Bavaria on Saturday did so “indiscriminately,” police said during a press conference Sunday presenting the first results of their investigation into the attack. Prosecutor Gerhard Neuhof said […]