Germany’s federal government has unveiled a ten-point plan aimed at strengthening the criminal justice response to Islamist terrorism following an attack at Berlin’s Christopher Street Day (CSD). The proposals include tougher penalties for supporting terrorist organisations, expanded rules on terrorist propaganda and new criminal provisions targeting the collection of donations for terrorist groups.
Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the CSU and Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig of the SPD presented the measures at the Chancellery. The government plans to expand the criminal offence covering the distribution of propaganda material by terrorist organisations and introduce a new offence specifically addressing the collection of donations for such groups.
The proposals would also change how courts approach suspended sentences. Under the plan, the security interests of the wider public are to receive greater consideration when decisions are made on whether offenders should receive probation. Courts would also be expressly required to explain their decision when applying juvenile criminal law to young adults. “Youth criminal law is not lenient justice,” Hubig said.
The government also intends to take a tougher approach towards individuals already known to authorities as security risks. Dobrindt said particularly well-known “Gefährder” should face stricter measures. He said protection against such individuals should be strengthened through greater use of electronic ankle tags, increasing the authorities’ ability to monitor people regarded as posing a security threat.
The proposals were prompted by the attack at Berlin’s CSD on 25 July. According to the information provided by the government, Abdul B., an Islamist-motivated attacker, killed a woman and injured at least 31 people, some of them seriously, on the outskirts of the event. The attack subsequently triggered a wider public debate in Germany over probation rules and how authorities deal with people considered potential security threats.
Abdul B. had previously been known to the authorities as a radical Islamist and was under probation supervision at the time of the attack. His case became a central point in discussions over whether existing legal and security measures provide sufficient protection against individuals already known to authorities.
The ten-point plan also includes a proposed minimum prison sentence of one year for particularly dangerous bodily harm committed with knives or other dangerous weapons, according to information from government circles. The measure extends the government’s response beyond offences directly associated with terrorist organisations and addresses the use of dangerous weapons in violent crimes.
Dobrindt said the ten-point plan would be approved by the federal cabinet on Wednesday “in key points” before moving into the legislative process. The announcement therefore marks the beginning of a proposed series of legal changes rather than the completion of the legislative process.
The government’s measures come amid renewed scrutiny of Germany’s approach to Islamist terrorism, probation and individuals identified as potential security threats. The Berlin CSD attack has brought those issues into sharper public focus, with the proposed legislation seeking to strengthen criminal penalties and monitoring powers while changing how courts assess public-security considerations in certain cases.
