Denmark and Germany Hold 8, Including Syrians, on Terror Charges

German police officers secure a area during raids in Berlin. (Reuters File Photo)
German police officers secure a area during raids in Berlin. (Reuters File Photo)
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Denmark and Germany Hold 8, Including Syrians, on Terror Charges

German police officers secure a area during raids in Berlin. (Reuters File Photo)
German police officers secure a area during raids in Berlin. (Reuters File Photo)

German and Danish authorities said Thursday they have arrested three Syrian men on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack, and later five more terrorism-linked arrests were announced in Denmark.

It was not immediately clear whether all eight arrests were linked.

Klaus Tewes, spokesman for federal prosecutors in the eastern German town of Naumburg, said a warrant was issued for the three men, aged 33, 36 and 40, last weekend on charges of preparing a serious act of violence.

They're alleged to have purchased several kilograms of chemicals in January that could be used to manufacture explosives.

A search of a residence linked to the suspects in the city of Dessau-Rosslau, between Naumburg and Berlin, turned up 10 kilograms of black powder, and fuses.

Two of the suspects were arrested in Denmark, where more chemicals were seized. The third was arrested in Germany near Frankfurt. None of their names were given, The Associated Press reported.

Der Spiegel magazine reported that the three men were brothers, and that one of the two arrested in Denmark had been registered in Dessau. In addition to the chemicals, Spiegel reported that authorities found a homemade flag of ISIS in their search of the residence there.

In a separate statement Thursday afternoon, Danish authorities said that in addition to the two Syrians five more suspects had been arrested since the weekend. Their identities and nationalities were not made public.

The Danish Security and Intelligence Service said in a statement that all had been taken into custody from Feb. 6 to Feb. 8 on the island of Zealand, where Copenhagen sits.

They are suspected of “having planned one or more terrorist attacks or participated in attempted terrorism," AP quoted the statement as saying.

It was not immediately clear whether all were suspected of involvement in the same alleged terror plot or in different ones.

In a statement, the agency said the seven are suspected “of having acquired ingredients and components for the manufacture of explosives, as well as weapons, or having participated in this.”



Pro-Palestinian NGOs Sue Dutch Gov't over Israel Support

A Palestinian flag is removed from a building by Israeli authorities after being put up by an advocacy group that promotes coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. (AP)
A Palestinian flag is removed from a building by Israeli authorities after being put up by an advocacy group that promotes coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. (AP)
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Pro-Palestinian NGOs Sue Dutch Gov't over Israel Support

A Palestinian flag is removed from a building by Israeli authorities after being put up by an advocacy group that promotes coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. (AP)
A Palestinian flag is removed from a building by Israeli authorities after being put up by an advocacy group that promotes coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. (AP)

Pro-Palestinian groups took the Dutch state to court Friday, urging a halt to arms exports to Israel and accusing the government of failing to prevent what they termed a genocide in Gaza.

The NGOs argued that Israel is breaking international law in Gaza and the West Bank, invoking, amongst others, the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention set up in the wake of the Holocaust.

"Israel is guilty of genocide and apartheid" and "is using Dutch weapons to wage war", said Wout Albers, a lawyer representing the NGOs.

"Dutch weapons are killing children, every day, in Palestine, including my family," said Ahmed Abofoul, a legal advisor to Al Haq, one of the groups involved in the suit, AFP reported.

Israel furiously denies accusations of genocide as it presses on with the offensive in Gaza it began after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.

Opening the case at the court in The Hague, judge Sonja Hoekstra noted: "It is important to underline that the gravity of the situation in Gaza is not contested by the Dutch State, nor is the status of the West Bank."

"Today is about finding out what is legally in play and what can be expected of the State, if the State can be expected to do more, or act differently than it is currently acting," she added.

She acknowledged this was a "sensitive case", saying: "It's a whole legal debate."

The lawyer for the Dutch State, Reimer Veldhuis, said the Netherlands has been applying European laws in force for arms exports.

Veldhuis argued the case should be tossed out.

"It is unlikely that the minister responsible will grant an arms export licence to Israel that would contribute to the Israeli army's activities in Gaza or the West Bank," said Veldhuis.