They are said to belong to a cross-country radical Islamist terror network that is said to have considered attacks on Cologne Cathedral and St. Stephen’s Cathedral. The three suspected terrorists – two men and a woman – deny the allegations.
The regional court assumed that the reasons for detention were the risk of escape, concealment and the commission of a crime, as court spokeswoman Christina Salzborn announced upon request. The three “did not confess” to the judge who made the pre-trial detention order, said Salzborn. Regardless, two suspects accepted the court’s decision, which is therefore legally effective until January 8th. A defendant lodged a complaint against this.
Data carriers are evaluated
The public prosecutor’s office is investigating the trio for terrorist association (§278b StGB) in connection with terrorist offenses (§278c StGB). During a house search, data carriers – including their cell phones – were seized from the three suspected Islamists and are now being evaluated. The aim was to show whether there was a connection to the terrorist group “Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISPK)”, which had recently been speculated about in media reports. The spokeswoman for the public prosecutor’s office, Nina Bussek, did not initially confirm this when asked.
Security precautions tightened
Meanwhile, the Christmas fairs in the federal capital took place without any special incidents. Police spokesman Philipp Haßlinger said the executive’s security measures had taken effect on Monday morning when asked. There were probably no assassination plans immediately before implementation, at least in Vienna; the Vienna police had significantly tightened security precautions due to an updated threat assessment from the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence (DSN) immediately before Christmas, as well as the persistently increased terror alert level.
Civilian emergency services with special equipment
These will remain in place over the Christmas holidays and towards New Year’s Eve, especially in patrol and surveillance duty. How many additional civil servants have been or will be put into service for this purpose is not communicated. In addition to uniformed personnel, civilian emergency services with special equipment and long weapons are also on the move at critical points. Police attention is focused primarily on churches and religious events, especially church services, as well as Christmas markets.
