The terrorist militia IS is still fighting in Syria, among other places. Money is also being collected for this in Germany. The judiciary has now succeeded in an almost nationwide strike against the helpers.
Because they are said to have collected donations for the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS), the federal prosecutor’s office had seven suspected supporters arrested. In addition, there were searches in ten federal states on Wednesday morning, the Karlsruhe authority said. More than 1,000 members of the Federal Criminal Police Office, the State Criminal Police Offices of the affected countries and the police were involved in the large-scale raid. A total of more than 100 objects were searched. The newspapers “BZ” and “Bild” also reported on this.
According to a spokesman, there were searches in Berlin, Bavaria, Bremen, Baden-Württemberg, Hamburg, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Thuringia, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. According to the information, an object was also searched in the Netherlands.
Three men and four women were arrested in Ulm (Baden-Württemberg), in the Neuwied district (Rhineland-Palatinate), in Bremen and two each in the Heinsberg district and in the Rheinisch-Bergisch district (both North Rhine-Westphalia). You were involved as a financial intermediary in the international financing network. “By collecting donations and forwarding them to IS, they played a central role in the funding network.”
Advertised money payments online
The supreme prosecuting authority in Germany accuses the accused – mostly German, but also Kosovan, Moroccan and Turkish nationality – of supporting a terrorist organization abroad. They should be brought before the investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice this Wednesday and Thursday. He decides whether they have to be remanded in custody. The investigators accuse other suspects of making money payments to the financing network in favor of the IS.
Since 2020, two IS supporters have been campaigning for money payments from Syria via the online service Telegram, the federal prosecutor said. “Integrated into the network were financial intermediaries who collected funds and made accounts or digital donation funds available.” The money collected was transferred to IS members in Syria or to intermediaries named there – a total of at least 65,000 euros.
Social Media Campaigns
According to the information, the payments served to strengthen IS. “The funds were used in particular to improve the supply situation for members of the association imprisoned in the northern Syrian camps Al-Hol and Roj,” explained the federal prosecutor. “In some cases, the money was used to enable the inmates to escape or be smuggled out of the camps.”
According to dpa information, the campaigns on social media with titles such as “Your sister in the camp” have been running for several years. They are said to provide financial support to IS women who have been living with their children in Syria since the terrorist militia’s military defeat, especially in the Al-Hol camp controlled by Kurdish groups.
There were repeated reports that women, children and young people who still feel they belong to IS were smuggled out of the camp in exchange for large sums of money. Of the dozens of IS women who have returned to Germany in recent years, many have been arrested and tried after their arrival. Some of them came to Germany with their children from Syria via return campaigns, others were deported or came back on their own.
For years, the IS controlled large areas in the civil war country Syria and in neighboring Iraq. In June 2014 he proclaimed a so-called caliphate and claimed his claim to leadership in global jihad. According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the peak phase ended in 2016. In the meantime, the extremists have lost their dominion again. However, IS cells are still active in both countries.
Since the beginning of January 2014, according to the Criminal Code, acts by members or supporters of IS who are German citizens, who reside in Germany or work here, can be prosecuted. On September 12, 2014, the Ministry of the Interior also issued a ban on IS activities in Germany. This includes, among other things, any participation in social media and demonstrations in favor of the IS and any kind of supportive action such as raising money and material as well as recruiting fighters. These acts have been punishable since then.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
