exclusive
A Tajik suspected of terrorism is said to be loud WDR-Information will be transferred promptly from North Rhine-Westphalia to Austria. The Cologne Public Prosecutor’s Office has agreed to an extradition.
Shortly before the end of the year there was a terror alarm in Cologne. Police secured the cathedral and visitors were checked. The reason for the increased security measures was a threat that, according to the authorities, posed by several people from the Islamist scene.
A group of Tajiks, said to be supporters of the terrorist organization “Islamic State Khorasan” (ISPK), are suspected of having planned attacks on Cologne Cathedral and St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna. As a result, several suspects were arrested in Austria and Germany around the turn of the year.
After WDRAccording to information, one of the terror suspects, 30-year-old Tajik B., is to be transferred to Austria next week. The man, who is classified by the local security authorities as an Islamist threat, was arrested in Wesel in December by special forces from the North Rhine-Westphalia police and was initially taken into police custody.
Since the beginning of January, B. has been in custody pending extradition in a correctional facility due to a so-called detention order from the Cologne District Court. The reason is a European arrest warrant and an extradition request from Austria. The request has now been granted, a spokesman for the Cologne Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed when asked.
In Austria – unlike in Germany – a criminal investigation is underway against the Tajik. “This person is suspected of the crime of terrorist organization and criminal organization,” a spokeswoman for the Vienna public prosecutor’s office said a few weeks ago.
The Islamist is said to have been in contact with people in Austria last year who are also being investigated by the Vienna public prosecutor’s office.
Shortly before Christmas 2023, a 28-year-old Tajik and his 27-year-old Turkish wife were arrested in a refugee accommodation in Ottakring. They are also said to be supporters of ISPK, the Afghan branch of the terrorist organization “Islamic State” (IS). In January, the pre-trial detention of the two terror suspects was extended.