Almost a week after the attack in Solingen, investigations are underway: What is known so far? And what new information is there about the suspect and his failed deportation?
How did Issa al-H. come to Germany?
According to information from WDR and ndr The suspect Issa al-H. came to Germany from Syria via Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Austria at the end of 2022. He later explained to officials why he was applying for asylum in Germany.
According to the report, he had refused military service in Syria and feared revenge. He wanted to find a job in Germany and support his family at home financially, as he came from a poor background. Officials were unable to find an uncle in Germany, whom he is said to have mentioned in asylum interviews. He apparently did not say anything about a connection to or a threat from the terrorist militia “Islamic State”.
Why was the alleged perpetrator not deported?
The Syrian should actually have been sent back to Bulgaria – because that is where he was first registered in early December 2022. The European Dublin rules stipulate that the country in which a person was first registered is responsible for processing an asylum application.
Bulgaria also quickly agreed to take the Syrian back. However, on June 5, 2023, the deportation by plane planned for early in the morning failed because employees of the Central Aliens Authority in Bielefeld did not find him in his accommodation.
According to information from WDR and ndr The employees are said not to have rung neighbouring doors during the night or asked the security guards where the man was. The authorities or the State Ministry for Refugees have not yet answered any queries about this. According to the research, police officers who were on site apparently only provided official assistance and were not responsible for the operation.
The Syrian was not informed of the attempted deportation beforehand so that he would not avoid the appointment – a common practice. Investigations by the NRW State Ministry for Refugees have shown that the Syrian was marked in the accommodation’s booking system the day before and the day after – so he was apparently on site. The authorities, however, apparently did not try to find him again. The man was therefore not considered to have gone into hiding either. This had consequences.
If a person is wanted for arrest and is considered to have gone into hiding, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), which is responsible for the asylum procedure, can extend the transfer period from six to 18 months. That did not happen in this case.
A further deportation attempt after June 2023 was apparently not considered, as the next place for deportation to Bulgaria would probably not have become available until August. However, as the authorities usually only have six months to carry out a Dublin transfer, that would have been too late.
Is the failed repatriation an exception?
It is more the norm that a Dublin transfer does not work. In 2023, there were around 75,000 Dublin transfer attempts, but only around 5,000 successful transfers. The reasons for failure vary: sometimes states refuse a transfer – in the case of Solingen, this was not the case. Bulgaria quickly agreed.
Courts also repeatedly prohibit transfers. In addition, it occasionally happens that those to be deported resist.
One challenge for the German authorities is that cooperation with the receiving state is often complicated. According to the State Ministry of Refugees in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bulgaria, for example, has only permitted transfers by plane in the summer of 2023 – and then only by scheduled flight and not by charter flight.
And only on certain days of the week. The numbers are also limited. Overall, the possibilities for transfer are limited – which, according to the State Ministry for Refugees, was probably the decisive factor in the Solingen case, since the next transfer opportunity after June was not until the end of August.
How did they manage to find the Syrian?
From Friday evening onwards, the police used all available resources to search for the suspected perpetrator, who was still unknown at the time. Over the course of Saturday, the evidence on the man grew. The Syrian had apparently lost or thrown away a jacket with papers near the crime scene. His trail was followed with sniffer dogs, among other things. The officers eventually found the knife that was probably used for the crime in a rubbish bin.
In addition, according to information from WDR and ndr A foreign intelligence service obtained important information about the suspected assassin, even before Issa al-H. was arrested. Security circles say that these clues probably came from the technical surveillance of terrorists from the “Islamic State” militia.
Contrary to what was initially reported, the alleged perpetrator is said to have been WDR and ndr did not turn himself in to the police, but was arrested. He is also said not to have said the oft-quoted sentence “I am the one you are looking for”. Rather, police officers near the crime scene noticed a person who was behaving suspiciously and then checked the man. The Welt and the Bild newspaper also reported this.
The police patrol is said to have eventually spoken to Al-H., and the Syrian in turn is said to have made it clear to the officers that he hardly speaks any German. His German and English skills are said to be very poor.
Is this a lone perpetrator?
The security authorities are currently investigating the extent to which the man has been a supporter of IS for a long time. The analysis of his communications could be important for this. A cell phone that was initially found in a drain not far from the asylum accommodation apparently does not belong to the Syrian. It is said to have been lying in the sewer for a long time. The security authorities are currently investigating information from WDR and ndr attempt to technically read several other seized devices – in the hope that one of them actually belongs to the man and can help solve the case.
How is the investigation of the case going?
The Federal Prosecutor General in Karlsruhe has now taken over the case. At the same time, authorities and ministries at state and federal level are trying to reconstruct the events. NRW State Minister for Refugees Josefine Paul, for example, spoke on Monday of a “complete” investigation. “Immediately after the arrest of the suspected perpetrator, a report was requested from the Central Aliens Authority in Bielefeld and all necessary information was requested from the BAMF.”
In fact, according to information from WDR and ndr The BAMF in Nuremberg only received a written request from North Rhine-Westphalia the next day. This was after journalists had asked the NRW Ministry of Refugees about the exact process of the investigation. When asked, the ministry said that there had been an exchange of information at a specialist level beforehand.
Today at 10:50 p.m., Das Erste will show the film “The Attack in Solingen – Chronicle of a Failure” – afterwards also in the ARD media library.