In the Middle East, the dangerous Islamic State group has been massively defeated. In Germany, however, it poses a tangible security threat. The federal government’s response to a parliamentary question from the Greens group now reveals this
According to the data provided, the Federal Criminal Police Office has information on 148 women and men who have at least temporarily joined IS and are now living in Germany again. The security forces now consider six of them to be harmless.
On the other hand, as of 22 January, 78 “Germans” who had returned from Syria and Iraq (dual nationals and foreigners) were considered to be Islamist “threats”. The police also listed another 64 returnees in their databases as “relevant persons”.
People deemed dangerous by the police may commit a serious politically motivated crime. The “relevant persons” category holds the names of people who the police believe may be involved in or support such a crime.
According to the federal government, 42 returnees were last detained for crimes related to their departure for Syria or Iraq. Many of them will be released from prison in the foreseeable future, further increasing the threat to public security.