Solingen Knife Attack Prompts Tough Security Measures

On Friday morning, following months of negotiations, Germany deported 28 criminal offenders of Afghan nationality. They were put on a charter plane in Leipzig bound for Kabul. It is the first deportation of Afghans back to their home country since the Taliban took power in Kabul in August 2021.

Human rights organizations such as Pro Asyl are of the opinion that deportations to Afghanistan and Syria are unconstitutional. “International law clearly prohibits any deportations to these two countries. Torture and inhumane punishments are a real threat in both countries,” explained Pro Asyl after the terrorist attack in Solingen.

In the past, several conservative and far-right politicians have been pointing out that there have been cases of Afghan or Syrian refugees who returned to their home country on vacations to visit their families, returning safely to Germany. These individuals will now also face deportation. “Anyone who takes a vacation back to their home country although they have previously stated that they cannot stay there safely is being inconsistent and must lose their protection status,” Justice Minister Buschmann said.

The conservative opposition was not impressed with the security package. Thorsten Frei, Parliamentary Secretary of the CDU/CSU group in the Bundestag, told the mass-circulation Bild that the proposals would not lead to a fundamental change in migration policy and internal security.

Task Force to Combat Islamism
There also will be a new task force to deal with Islamism. “The focus will be to fight the radicalization of individual offenders on the internet,” said Faeser.

Thomas Mücke from the Violence Prevention Network (VPN) in Berlin welcomed the news. His organization targets people who are active in extremist circles or are in prison for criminal offenses. Deradicalization work has become highly professionalized in recent years, he told DW.

“We know exactly how to work with people to get them out of the radical scene,” Mücke emphasized. He stressed that his organization works well with the security authorities and has been successful. The VPN has worked with German nationals returning home after having joined the terrorist organization “Islamic State” (IS).

Mücke argues that this should also give the German government hope that the counterterrorism measures it has launched can succeed in the long term.

Mücke worked with the first IS returnee back in 2014: “When you see how he lives today and is integrated into society, you would never think that this is a person who spent time in an IS camp,” Mücke said.

Marcel writes on German domestic politics for DW. This article was originally written in German, and it is edited by Rob Mudge, and it is published courtesy of Deutsche Welle (DW).