It sounds like a bad joke – but it is a bitter reality: two men, convicted of supporting the terrorist organisation ‘Islamic State’ (IS), are back in Warendorf ( North Rhine-Westphalia). Exactly where they were arrested by special forces in a refugee centre last summer.
Now they are on the loose again – despite the fact that, according to the court, they are ideologically close to IS. This is reported by the newspaper Westfälische Nachrichten.
The two Tajiks had allegedly come to Germany as Ukrainian refugees. But instead of seeking protection, they are said to have plotted terrorist attacks and channelled money to IS.
The Federal Public Prosecutor accuses seven men of having founded a terrorist cell with a clear mission: Attacks in Germany and Western Europe – as media-effective and brutal as possible. They are also alleged to have provided financial support to the so-called Islamic State (IS). The group is said to have met several times in changing line-ups to push ahead with their plans. After months of pre-trial detention, the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court sentenced two of the men last week to one year’s imprisonment each – which, however, has already been served due to the pre-trial detention.
After the judgement, the men were not taken directly into custody pending deportation – but returned to Warendorf, according to the Westfälische Nachrichten newspaper. In other words, exactly where they had once been arrested by special units in a refugee centre. When asked by NIUS about the current whereabouts of the convicted men, the press office of the district town of Warendorf said: ‘I cannot provide any information on this at the moment. However, I can inform you that the immigration authorities have exhausted all possibilities under residence law.’
When asked by NIUS about the security situation in Warendorf, the district gave an evasive answer. The Münster police’s state security service would have to be asked about the current threat situation. He continued: ‘In principle, people who are trained in weapons and adhere to an extremist ideology pose a potential threat to liberal societies.’
District Administrator Dr Olaf Gericke (CDU) vented his anger to the Westfälische Nachrichten newspaper: ‘Anyone who supports such a terrorist organisation obviously rejects our Western values and social order. Such people have no place here.’ The CDU politician calls for consistent deportation.
But the judiciary is hesitating. Because the men in Tajikistan could allegedly face torture, the administrative court has already halted the deportation plans in another case.
A few weeks ago, there was a spectacular incident in Oelde (also in the district of Warendorf): an IS supporter who had already been convicted had barricaded himself in a police station, pulled out a cutter knife, injured himself – and thus prevented his deportation. The plan was clear – and failed miserably: when the IS supporter, who had been sentenced to five years in prison, arrived at the police station in Oelde on a Monday morning in February this year as prescribed, an arrest warrant was already issued. Instead of allowing himself to be taken into custody without resistance, the Tajik went berserk. First he put up a physical fight, then he pulled out a cutter knife, held it to his neck – and injured himself on the stomach. He barricaded himself in the lock area for hours before heavily armed SEK officers secured the building and finally escorted the man to hospital.
Instead of deportation, there was another standstill: an urgent decision by the Higher Administrative Court stopped the measure at the last minute. Since then, the man has been at large again – another setback for the authorities in the fight against convicted extremists.
District Administrator Gericke even wrote to Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) – hoping that better diplomatic assurances from Tajikistan would convince the courts.
Nevertheless, in response to an enquiry from NIUS, the Federal Foreign Office announced on Wednesday that it was ‘in ongoing talks’ with the Tajik authorities. How long will the process take? Remains undetermined.