The suspect arrested in Upper Franconia for alleged plans to attack German army soldiers spent several months in prison in Austria. The 27-year-old Syrian was sentenced to 19 months in prison for human trafficking at the Eisenstadt Regional Court in Burgenland, Austria, a spokesman for the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office told the German Press Agency. After being sentenced in early August 2018, the man was released at the end of April 2019.
After the arrest on Thursday, investigators initially reported that the man had no previous convictions. This is also true – but only with regard to Germany, the Attorney General’s Office has now added.
Deportation was not planned
According to investigators, the Syrian had entered Germany ten years ago. He enjoys so-called subsidiary protection. This limited protection applies to people who are not recognized as individually persecuted refugees, but who provide compelling reasons why they would face serious harm – such as civil war – if they returned to their country of origin. According to the information, deportation was not planned.
The 27-year-old is now in custody because he is said to have obtained two machetes in order to kill as many Bundeswehr soldiers as possible during their lunch break in the city center of Hof in Upper Franconia.
Witness tip put investigators on the trail
The investigators assumed that the 27-year-old is a supporter of a radical Islamic ideology. He wanted to unsettle the population and attract attention with the attack. He is suspected of preparing a serious act of violence that endangers the state. However, until a final conviction is made, the presumption of innocence applies.
According to Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU), a “witness tip from the accused’s environment” put investigators on the trail of the Syrian. The tip was received by the police last Wednesday. The case shows that the investigating authorities act “immediately when they suspect something.” The Attorney General’s Office did not want to comment on the current status of the investigation.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240917-930-234532/1
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