Possibly thwarted attack: Central Council of Jews is appalled


Status: 17.09.2021 00:05

After the apparently foiled attack on the synagogue in Hagen, representatives of the Jewish community expressed dismay. Of the four Syrians arrested, three were released.

The thwarting of a suspected Islamist-motivated attack on the synagogue in Hagen caused horror in the Jewish community. “The incident brings back bad memories of the attack on Yom Kippur two years ago in Halle,” said the President of the Central Council of Jews, Josef Schuster. He also thanked the police: “We thank the security authorities who apparently prevented an attack on the synagogue in Hagen.”

The former President of the Central Council, Charlotte Knobloch, stated that the alleged attempted attack showed again that “Jewish life without fear is still not possible in Germany, despite all the good words.” It is still unthinkable without police protection. “Anyone who is out and about with a kippah, who wears a Star of David chain or who leaves for his synagogue on the evening of the highest Jewish holiday, is putting himself in danger – this is what many in the Jewish community now think,” said the President of the Jewish Community in Munich.

The police apparently thwarted the attack on the synagogue in Hagen

Birgit Virnich, WDR, daily news 8:00 p.m., September 16, 2021

Three detainees released

According to a media report, a 16-year-old Syrian provisionally arrested has denied the attack plans. According to a spokesman for the attorney general’s office, he admitted contact with a bomb-building expert via the Telegram messaging app, but denied any plans to attack the synagogue. His father and two brothers were also found during a home search and were also arrested. The spokesman emphasized that there is currently no suspicion against them. In the evening, the three were therefore released again.

As the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger” reports, the state security officers and the anti-terror department of the Düsseldorf Public Prosecutor’s Office are now trying to understand his intentions based on the evaluation of the accused’s cell phone. The newspaper also reported that there were state security findings against the accused’s family. Accordingly, she moved in radical Islamic Salafist circles. However, neither explosives nor weapons were found in the accused’s apartment.

Lawyer expects release soon

To the WDR the suspect’s attorney, Ihsan Tanyolu, said he expected the youth to be released soon. In the “local time”, the lawyer said that no demonstration of the suspect before a juvenile judge was planned. “You can already see that there isn’t much to it.”

Possible attack prevented

On Wednesday, indications of a possible threat to the synagogue in Hagen were received. Heavily armed police then surrounded the church. A hundred were on duty, the area around the building was cordoned off.

Apparently, an Islamist-motivated attack could be prevented in this way. “We have received very serious and specific information that there could be an attack on the synagogue during Yom Kippur,” said the North Rhine-Westphalian Interior Minister Herbert Reul. This also included the possible time of the crime, the crime scene and the perpetrator. Apparently there had been a warning from a foreign secret service beforehand.



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