Following the deadly attack in Solingen on Friday 23 August, in which a Syrian suspected of links to the Islamic State (IS) organisation was arrested, the ruling coalition in Germany has decided to tighten laws on benefits for certain asylum seekers and on the carrying of knives.
During a press conference on Thursday 29 August in Berlin, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced the abolition of aid for asylum seekers who have entered another EU country before arriving in Germany. Among the other measures announced is a ban on carrying knives, which will apply in particular during public gatherings – festivals and fairs – as well as on long-distance transport (trains but also buses).
“The attack in Solingen shocked us deeply and (…) The government reacts with tougher measures”justified Mme Phaser. The minister added that the government wishes “rapidly achieve the possibility of deporting dangerous criminals to Afghanistan and Syria”.
Olaf Scholz expresses his “anger” after the deadly attack
With one week to go before regional elections in two eastern German states, where the far right could do well, the government is under pressure from the opposition and public opinion following this attack which left three dead and eight injured during local festivities.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who came to pay his respects at the site of the attack on Monday, spoke of this legislative tightening, promising ” do everything » For “Expel those who cannot and should not stay in Germany”. he also said ” anger “ before this act of “terrorism against us all”denouncing the “Islamists who threaten peaceful coexistence among us all”.
The Solingen attack suspect, identified as Issa Al-H., arrived in Germany in December 2022 and was subject to a deportation order to Bulgaria, where his entry had been registered and where he was supposed to submit his asylum application. Until then he was housed in a refugee centre in the centre of Solingen.
After the attack, the 26-year-old man went to the police on Saturday to be arrested. He wanted “kill as many people as possible”said the Karlsruhe Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office. “He stabbed festival-goers multiple times and selectively in the back, neck and torso”He said. The attack was claimed by ISIS, stating that the attacker had acted “to avenge the Muslims of Palestine and everywhere”according to a statement from the jihadist group broadcast by its propaganda organ Amaq.
