The suspect in the Islamist terror trial in North Rhine-Westphalia, Monir J., is officially registered as a Christian with German authorities. This is shown by documents obtained by the newspaper WELT. The official record was made at the beginning of 2017 as part of an asylum procedure. The 32-year-old from Iran is said to be a convert, according to security circles. Photos that J. posted on social media in 2017 show him wearing a necklace with a cross pendant.
Investigators are examining how this information fits with the alleged Islamist convictions of the arrested man. The Düsseldorf prosecutor general’s office accuses Monir J. and his 25-year-old brother of planning an Islamist-motivated attack. According to this, they wanted to procure poisonous substances – cyanide and ricin – “in order to kill an unspecified number of people with them.” On Sunday, the Dortmund district court issued arrest warrants.
In 2015, Monir J. had arrived in Germany and applied for asylum. He was finally granted protection status in September 2017. This residence permit is valid until the end of July 2023. The initiation of revocation and readmission proceedings was rejected in 2021.
Meanwhile, the suspicion of terrorism against the Iranian brothers has been substantiated. They are said to have been involved in the construction of bombs and the corresponding instructions. WELT learned from security circles that there are new indications for this after the evaluation of seized evidence.
Investigators suspect that Monir J. is a follower of a Sunni Islamist ideology. He is said to have been a member of corresponding forums on the internet. State security officers are investigating whether there are also concrete links to terrorist militias such as the so-called Islamic State (IS). Shiite Islam is the state religion in Iran. Sunni Muslims and Christians are in the minority.
At the weekend, special police forces had searched Monir J.’s flat in Castrop-Rauxel. Due to indications of possible toxic substances for attack plans, the premises were cordoned off extensively. However, no such substances were found in the living quarters. On Monday, there are to be further searches in garages in North Rhine-Westphalia to which the brothers had access.
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the highly toxic ricin is listed in the war weapons list under “biological weapons”. Cyanide is also highly toxic; even the smallest amounts have a lethal effect on humans.
Monir J.’s brother, who was also arrested, was sentenced to seven years in prison for attempted murder by the Dortmund Regional Court in January 2019. However, the man had been allowed to stay overnight with Monir J. at the weekend. At the time, the brother allegedly threw a large branch from a bridge onto the A 45. Due to his addiction, the asylum seeker had been transferred to an addiction clinic in Hagen for therapy after initially serving his sentence in prison.