200 Germans probed in connection with Syria
December 9, 2015
Justice Minister Heiko Maas told the "Bild" newspaper on Wednesday that public prosecutors were pursuing 135 cases against some 200 German citizens suspected of particpating in the conflict in Syria.
"This shows that we have an extremely strong set of terror laws in Germany. One that we will consistently apply," Maas told the newspaper. "There is no tolerance for radical terrorists."
Fears of homegrown terror
Meanwhile, Bavaria's interior minister, Joachim Hermann, told Bild that criminal laws addressing terrorism should be strengthened.
"Given the threat posed by Islamic terrorism, we should further develop our tools to combat criminality: things like expressing sympathy for terrorist associations or visiting terrorist training camps should earn harsh punishment," Hermann said.
More than 700 people have left Germany to fight alongside terrorist groups like the "Islamic State" (IS) in Syria and Iraq.
blc/msh (epd, dpa)