The federal prosecutor’s office has arrested seven suspected supporters of the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS). In addition, there were searches in Berlin, Bavaria, Bremen, Baden-Württemberg, Hamburg, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Thuringia, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia on Wednesday morning. informed the Karlsruhe authority. It was about a financing network of the IS.
According to the information, four of the arrests were made in North Rhine-Westphalia, one more each in Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Bremen. The country’s highest prosecuting authority accuses the men and women – mostly German nationals – of supporting a terrorist organization. In Bavaria there are 13 suspects, but no arrests, said a spokesman for the Munich public prosecutor’s office.
According to dpa information, the background to the raid is fundraising for suspected supporters of the terrorist militia IS. The campaigns on social media with titles like “Your sister in the camp” have been running for several years. They serve the purpose of providing financial support to IS women who have been living with their children in Syria since the terrorist militia’s military defeat, especially in the Al-Hol camp controlled by Kurdish groups.
There were repeated reports that women, children and young people who still feel they belong to the IS were smuggled out of the camp in exchange for large sums of money. Of the dozens of IS women who have returned to Germany in recent years, many have been arrested and tried after their arrival. Some of them came to Germany with their children from Syria via return campaigns, others were deported or came back on their own.
For years, the IS controlled large areas in the civil war country Syria and in neighboring Iraq. In June 2014 he proclaimed a so-called caliphate and claimed his claim to leadership in global jihad. In the meantime, the extremists have lost their dominion again. However, IS cells are still active in both countries.
Since January 2014, according to the Criminal Code, acts by members or supporters of IS who are German citizens, who reside in Germany or work here, can be prosecuted. On September 12, 2014, the Ministry of the Interior also issued a ban on IS activities in Germany. It includes, among other things, any involvement in social media and demonstrations in favor of IS. Any kind of support activities such as raising money and material or recruiting fighters are also affected. These acts have been punishable since then.