Germany Approves 10-Point Islamist Terrorism Plan After Convicted Plotter Was Released Before Berlin Attack

Germany’s federal cabinet has approved a 10-point plan to strengthen the country’s response to Islamist terrorism following an attack in Berlin carried out by a man who had been convicted of preparing an attack just two months earlier.

The government formally adopted its 10-Point Plan for Better Protection Against Islamist Terrorism on September 16, describing the threat from Islamist extremism as persistently high.

The measures follow the July 25 attack on Berlin Pride, in which an Islamic State supporter killed one woman and injured dozens.

The attacker had already been convicted in May of preparing an attack.

He was nevertheless released under supervision before carrying out the Berlin atrocity in July.

Electronic monitoring and preventive detention

The new package includes expanded use of electronic ankle monitoring for extremists considered particularly dangerous.

Germany also wants more consistent rules governing preventive detention and greater powers for the country’s 16 states to preserve communications data for investigations.

Serious knife attacks covered by the legislation would carry a minimum prison sentence of one year.

The government is also seeking changes to how courts consider suspended sentences.

Judges would be required to give greater weight to public safety when deciding whether an offender should remain outside prison, particularly where the potential consequences of further offending are severe.

Berlin attack exposed the problem

That measure directly addresses one of the most difficult questions raised by the July attack.

The perpetrator had already reached the point where a German court convicted him of preparing an attack.

Yet he remained outside prison.

Two months later, he carried out the attack at Berlin Pride.

The government’s response is therefore not limited to identifying previously unknown extremists or expanding surveillance.

It also addresses what happens when authorities already know that somebody poses a potential threat and the criminal justice system must decide whether that person can safely remain in the community.

The package will require further legislative steps before all of its measures take effect.

But the cabinet decision moves Germany’s response from proposal to formal government policy.

The failure behind it is unusually clear.

German authorities had identified the future Berlin attacker, prosecuted him and secured a conviction for preparing an attack.

The new plan is intended, in part, to prevent the system from then giving a similarly dangerous offender the opportunity to carry one out.

Sources

• German Government – 10-Point Plan for Better Protection Against Islamist Terrorism
• Reuters – Germany seeks tougher security measures following Berlin Pride attack