Latest news with #HerbertReul
DW
09-07-2025
- DW
Germany: Police detain man in anti-terror raids – DW – 07/09/2025
Police carried out raids across North Rhine-Westphalia state in connection with a suspected Islamist terror plot. A man has been detained on suspicion of fraud with the intention of financing an Islamist terror attack. Police in Germany detained a man and searched a number of properties on Wednesday, across the western state of North Rhine-Wesphalia in connection with plans to carry out an Islamist terror attack. Police said they swooped on six properties in the cities of Essen, Dortmund, Düsseldorf and Soest with the raids being conducted as part of a "comprehensive investigation into suspected organized commercial fraud." According to a joint statement from the Düsseldorf Public Prosecutor's Office and Essen police, the investigation had turned up evidence that money gained through commercial fraud was intended to go toward financing an Islamist terrorist attack. Wednesday's raids aimed to hinder any further planning of the suspected attack and its execution, as well as clarifying the circumstances surrounding it, the statement said. The detainee, a 27-year-old man with Bosnian-Herzegovinian citizenship, was due to come before an investigating judge on Wednesday, officials said. The DPA news agency cited a senior prosecutor as saying it was believed the suspect resold expensive electronic devices that he had ordered but not paid for to generate funds. North Rhine-Westphalia is Germany's most-populous state, with a population of some 18 million people. North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister, Herbert Reul, said the raids prevented potential terrorist activity. "There are people out there who want to disregard and destroy our values and our way of life," Reul said. "Anyone who pursues terror plans here must expect the SEK [special forces] to be at their door in the morning," he said.
Times
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Times
Raid on Germany's ‘digital arsonists' feeds row over free speech
The police officers struck at 6am, raiding at least 65 addresses and running a total of more than 180 operations against 140 suspects across Germany. The target was not a drug-smuggling ring or a terror network. It was ugly language on social media. The individual cases investigated on the country's 12th national 'day of action against hate-posts' do not make for edifying reading. One man in the northern city of Bremen was accused of publishing a YouTube video with the title 'Are you a Jew? If yes, call Auschwitz.' Another called for the 'eradication' of the Alawites, a Muslim minority predominantly centred in Syria, while a 72-year-old living in the countryside around Passau, in the far south of the country, tweeted that a politician was a 'Nazi pig' and ought to be executed. Herbert Reul, the interior minister of the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, said that 'digital arsonists' needed to be reminded that they could not expect to hide behind their smartphones or laptops with impunity. 'Many people have forgotten the difference between hate and opinions,' Reul said. 'But it's so simple: if you don't do it in the real world, you shouldn't do it digitally.' In practice, though, things are not always quite that simple. 'Hate speech' is an extremely broad umbrella concept in the German criminal system, covering everything from personal slander and the mockery of public officials to Volksverhetzung, an attempt to mobilise the masses against whole sections of the population. The rate of prosecutions has gone through the roof. According to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), which co-ordinated the 'day of action' on Wednesday, the number of cases has quadrupled over the past three years, from 2,411 in 2021 to 10,732 last year. • Berlin's Allied Museum becomes a relic of friendlier times About two thirds of them are assigned to the 'far-right' end of the political spectrum; the rest to the radical left, 'foreign' or 'religious' ideology, or miscellaneous slurs. The BKA put the increase down to more extensive online searches by police. Yet it has left many feeling uncomfortable. One recent poll found that 43 per cent felt unable to express their opinions freely. In a separate study, 44 per cent said it was generally better to be cautious about stating your political views, compared with only 16 per cent who had said the same in 1990. The instances of hate speech cited by the BKA in Wednesday's raids were unambiguous. 'Heil Hitler!! Again,' one of the suspects had purportedly written. 'We are Germans and a successful nation. Male foreigners out.' Other cases have been less clear-cut, including a man who was reported to police for calling the business minister a 'dunderhead' and a hard-right journalist who was given a suspended prison sentence for posting an obviously satirical image of the interior minister posing with a sign that read: 'I hate free speech.' Wolfgang Kubicki, a veteran former MP and deputy speaker and the present deputy leader of the centre-right Free Democratic Party, said Reul's words were a 'declaration of political bankruptcy'. He added: 'To stage prosecutions for offensive statements as a 'day of action' is not going to shore up trust in the institutions of the state — least of all in connection with insults against politicians. [Reul] should seriously ask himself whether he is truly still defending the values of our constitution — or rather endangering them.'
Russia Today
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
German police launch nationwide crackdown on online ‘hate speech'
Germany's law enforcement authorities have launched a nationwide crackdown on alleged internet 'hate speech', the Federal Criminal Police (BKA) have announced. Two thirds of the cases being investigated are linked to 'right-wing' ideologies, the BKA said, with the media reporting they often involve 'insults against politicians.' Some 'isolated cases' have been tied to 'religious… left-wing and foreign' ideologies, according to police. More than 140 criminal investigations have been opened across all German states. The list of the most common crimes included incitement of hatred, use of prohibited symbols, and approval of crimes and insults, the police said. According to Germany's ARD broadcaster, the criminal cases often involve 'insults against politicians.' The police operation included over 65 searches and 'numerous' questionings, the BKA stated. Law enforcement has not reported that any suspects were detained as part of the investigations. The BKA also called on the people to 'support' the police and contribute to combating online hate by reporting 'hate postings' to either law enforcement or their network providers. Herbert Reul, the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, lauded the crackdown, which was launched on the 12th Action Day against 'criminal hate postings.' Commenting to dpa news agency, he asserted, 'Digital arsonists must not be able to hide behind their cell phones or computers.' The move took place just a day after Germany's highest administrative court lifted a ban that the federal government imposed on Compact magazine last year. The federal interior ministry had branded the publication a 'right-wing extremist' media outlet involved in 'anti-constitutional' activities due to its publications on Germany's migration policies. The court ruled that the publications could be interpreted as 'exaggerated, but ultimately permissible, criticism of migration policy' and declared the ban unlawful. The interior ministry acknowledged the decision but maintained that bans against media outlets do not 'constitute impermissible prior censorship' and can be applied in the future.
Arab Times
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab Times
Germany launches nationwide crackdown on online hate speech
BERLIN, Germany, June 25: In a sweeping national effort to combat online hate and extremist rhetoric, German police launched a coordinated crackdown Wednesday targeting individuals suspected of spreading hate speech and inciting violence on social media platforms. According to the German Press Agency (dpa), authorities carried out over 170 operations across all 16 federal states, with the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) leading the action. The campaign, part of an ongoing initiative that has been held annually for several years, aims to address the rising tide of digital hate crimes. The suspects are alleged to have posted inflammatory content, including racist, xenophobic, and anti-political rhetoric, as well as glorifying elements of Germany's Nazi past. Investigations are focusing predominantly on right-wing extremist expressions, though a smaller number of cases also involve religious extremism and radical leftist activity. In North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), police forces from several cities—including Bielefeld, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, Hagen, Cologne, and Münster—carried out coordinated actions beginning at 6:00 a.m. Two properties were searched, and 14 suspects were summoned for questioning. Authorities said much of the offensive content was disseminated publicly on social media platforms. In one cited case, a suspect posted the message "Heil Hitler! Once again. We are Germans and a successful nation. Male foreigners out," on the platform X (formerly Twitter). Commenting on the operation, NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul said: 'Many people have forgotten the difference between hatred and opinion. It's simple: what is unacceptable in the real world is equally unacceptable in the digital world. We need to show more integrity—both online and offline.' The BKA emphasized that while hate speech appears to be on the rise, the Central Reporting Office for Criminal Content on the Internet (ZMI) has significantly improved its detection and reporting mechanisms. Data released by the BKA in May revealed a sharp uptick in online hate crimes, with 10,732 offenses recorded in 2024—a 34% increase from the previous year, and nearly four times higher than the number in 2021. German authorities have noted a marked rise in politically motivated crimes by right-wing extremists in recent years. The current operation reflects a broader effort to ensure digital spaces are not exploited to spread violence, hate, or extremist ideologies.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
German teen under investigation for links to Islamic State
Public prosecutors in the western German city of Cologne are investigating a 14-year-old on suspicion of terrorism, dpa learned from security services on Friday. The boy is alleged to have spread Islamic State propaganda and expressed his intention to carry out an attack on a Christmas market in Cologne this coming December. According to the reports, the authorities initially investigated the boy for spreading propaganda for the extremist militia organization. He is said to have shared two videos and a post with references to Islamic State on his TikTok profile. The authorities said he also distributed an image displaying an oath of allegiance to the head of Islamic State. During the investigation, the state criminal police came across further social media profiles belonging to the suspect, which also featured Islamist content. They later learned that the teenager was planning attacks and had considered leaving the country. The police have taken the boy into custody. "A young man not only glorified and spread IS propaganda on his social media channels, but also shared fantasies of attacks. It is outrageous that 14-year-olds are already like this," said interior minister for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Herbert Reul. "Social media is an accelerant for extremist," he added. "We also need to keep a closer eye on these channels. That also means holding platform providers more to account. I am glad that our security authorities intervened at an early stage," Reul said.
