In Germany and the Netherlands, nine people from Central Asian countries were detained on suspicion of terrorism. Six of them are citizens of Tajikistan, one citizen of Turkmenistan and one citizen of Kyrgyzstan.
On July 6, the German Prosecutor General’s Office said that the suspects were in contact with representatives of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization. At the same time, it turned out that the detainees did not have a specific plan for committing illegal acts.
They were detained in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany.
The authorities released the names of the detained Tajiks: Mukhammadshujo A., Nuriddin K., Shamshod N., Said S. and Rabboni Z.
The German Prosecutor General’s Office does not exclude that they all came to Germany in the spring of 2022 from the territory of Ukraine. Some German media reported that people from Central Asia entered Germany under the guise of Ukrainian refugees on forged documents. According to investigators, all the detainees are from Central Asian countries, have known each other for a long time and share radical views.
In Germany, according to investigators, immigrants from Central Asian countries created a terrorist cell with the aim of carrying out terrorist attacks “in the spirit of ISIS”, for which they contacted extremists abroad. The police have information that the suspects picked up places in Germany for the attacks and tried to get weapons. The German Prosecutor General’s Office clarified that almost all those detained in April 2022 were raising funds for ISIS and repeatedly provided financial assistance to foreign extremist organizations.
It is reported that at the same time their accomplices were detained in the Netherlands: a 29-year-old citizen of Tajikistan and his 31-year-old wife, a citizen of Kyrgyzstan.
“These measures clearly show that the fight against Islamist terrorism remains the focus of our security forces,” said Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Feather.
According to her, the arrests in the Netherlands, which occurred at the same time, prove that “there is a close international and national network.” She also mentioned the attacks in Castrop-Rauxel and Hamburg, which had already been thwarted this year, as well as the IS funding network exposed at the end of May.
“In today’s case, it was also about the consistent prevention of terrorist financing for IS in addition to possible plans of attacks,” said the head of the German Interior Ministry.
The Dutch Attorney General’s Office said the detainees had been living in the country since 2022. “They are suspected of preparing a terrorist attack. The man is also suspected of being a member of ISIS,” the Dutch Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement.
The identities of the arrested Tajik and Kyrgyz citizens are not disclosed.