knife attack
Buschmann: The Brokstedt case shows deficiencies in administration
Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann criticizes the work of the authorities in the case of the Brokstedt knife attacker. photo
© Wolfgang Kumm/dpa
After the knife attack in a regional train, Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann sees the problem, among other things, in the lack of information flow. He wants to improve cooperation between the authorities.
Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) sees the case of the suspected knife attacker von Brokstedt as evidence that the flow of information between prosecutors and immigration authorities needs to be improved. A procedure had been initiated before the crime to expel Ibrahim A. from the country, Buschmann told the newspapers of the Funke media group. However, the legally required hearing of the man apparently failed because the competent authority did not reach him – even when he was already in custody on another charge and was therefore under the control of the law enforcement authorities.
“It can’t be,” criticized Buschmann. “Pre-trial detention shouldn’t be an advantage, especially for someone who boasts about how dangerous he is. That’s absurd.” His ministry made a proposal to the state justice departments as to how law enforcement and immigration authorities could work more closely together, also to prevent cases similar to the one in Brokstedt.
In the future, immigration authorities should not only be informed about the issuance and cancellation of an arrest warrant, but also about the actual detention or release of the person concerned. “In particular, the address of the detention center and the release address would also have to be given,” explained Buschmann. “Hearings and any subsequent deportations must not fail because the immigration authorities are not informed about these circumstances.”
Ibrahim A. is said to have stabbed other passengers with a knife on a regional train from Kiel to Hamburg on January 25. Two young people died and five others were injured, some seriously. Almost a week earlier, the 33-year-old had been released from custody in Hamburg. The authorities in both federal states – Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein – blame each other for dealing with the alleged perpetrator.