Attack plans on the synagogue
:
What is known about the Hagen case so far
–
9 pictures Several arrests after the police operation at the Hagen synagogue Photo: dpa/Alex Talash
– –
Update Hagen The police in North Rhine-Westphalia may have thwarted an attack on a synagogue in Hagen. A 16-year-old Syrian and three other people were arrested. What is known so far.
According to North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU), the probably planned attack on the Hagen synagogue probably has an Islamist background. On Wednesday, the police received a serious, concrete indication that there could be an attack during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, Reul said on Thursday in Cologne. The scene of the crime, the time of the crime and the perpetrator were named, and the information also allowed conclusions to be drawn about an “Islamistically motivated threat”.
–
–
In our live blog we continuously report on the latest developments, including the press conference.
–
The interior minister said that the police then took security measures and made contact with the synagogue community. The Jewish community canceled a planned event at short notice. After evacuating and searching the synagogue with explosives detection dogs, the police did not find any dangerous objects in the building or in the vicinity.
–
“There was a risk of an attack on the synagogue in Hagen,” said Reul at the swearing-in ceremony for young police officers in Cologne on Thursday. The investigation led to the identification and arrest of a 16-year-old Syrian citizen from Hagen. Three other people have been provisionally arrested. At the same time, other objects in Hagen would be searched. On request, the Düsseldorf Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that it was involved in the case. The Dortmund police are still on site in Hagen, said a spokesman.
–
Meanwhile, the investigation into the background continues. “We are now in particularly close contact with the Jewish community. People are worried, “said a police spokesman. At the same time, the protection of the church has been strengthened. The police are still present: A dpa photographer reported on several patrol cars near the synagogue and of officers armed with submachine guns.
–
After the failed attack, the North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) promised that the planned crime would be investigated. “The immediate danger has been averted – and we will do everything we can to clarify which networks may have been behind this attack,” said the Union Chancellor candidate in Bremen on Thursday. Everything is done to guarantee the safety of Jewish life.
–
The highest Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur, is always an occasion for attacks such as in Halle in October 2019, where a right-wing extremist tried to carry out an attack on the synagogue, failed at the door and then killed two people on the street and in a kebab shop. “It seems that an Islamist-motivated attack could be prevented before today’s Yom Kippur Day,” said Laschet. He himself was informed about the attack plans on Wednesday evening.
–
Synagogue cordoned off on Wednesday
On Wednesday afternoon, strong police had cordoned off the synagogue after there had been indications of a “possible danger”. The street in downtown Hagen, where the synagogue is located, was blocked 250 meters away. The police spokesman said that numerous forces from a force of 100 were deployed.
–
A service planned for Wednesday evening on Yom Kippur, the highest Jewish holiday, was canceled at short notice. Most of the members of the community could have been informed of the cancellation by phone and did not even come to the synagogue. Some were informed by the police at the barriers and sent back home. This went off very calmly and without panic, said the spokesman. Neighbors who wanted to go to their apartments in the vicinity had to show their identity card. Dog handlers with several police dogs searched the synagogue and the neighboring parish hall, which also houses a doctor’s office.
–
Hagen’s Mayor Erik O. Schulz has assured the Jewish community of his solidarity in the face of the threat. “As little as we know about the exact situation – our thoughts are with the Jewish community of Hagen,” he told the “Westfalenpost”. Schulz set out after an external appointment to get an idea of the operation on site, it said on Wednesday evening. The Jewish community in Hagen is small. According to the Central Welfare Office of Jews in Germany, it had 264 members in 2020.
–
:quality(80)/cdn-kiosk-api.telegraaf.nl/dc1ca0d8-168e-11ec-bde3-0218eaf05005.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)