Four EU countries oppose SWIFT bank data deal with US ahead of Lisbon Treaty

Opposition from four member states to a draft agreement between the EU and US allowing the use of banking data in anti-terrorist investigations is likely to delay a decision until after 1 December, drawing the European Parliament into the decision making process. Citing data privacy concerns, Germany, Austria, France and Finland are opposing the text [...]

Infamous German Islamist Imam Forswears Terror

Muslims should make peace with Germany, argues former hate preacher Mohammed El Fazazi, the man who once provided religious instruction to the men behind the 9/11 terror attacks such as Mohammed Atta, Ramzi Binalshibh and Marwan al-Shehhi. Der Spiegel has published an abridged version of his open letter to Muslims. Early indications suggest that Fazazi’s [...]

German Interior Ministry plans to expand the powers of the secret police

The Süddeutsche Zeitung recently reported the existence of a six-page catalogue of demands, entitled “Preparations for Coalition” and dated September 22, that was approved by the head of the Department for Public Security within the German ministry of interior.Neither the Süddeutsche Zeitung nor Spiegel Online, which also claims to have the document, have so far [...]

German constitutional court: secrecy in rendition inquiry violated constitution

A parliamentary inquiry into the detention of two Muslims from Germany at a US prison in Afghanistan found after two years no conclusive evidence that German intelligence agents of the BND assisted the extraordinary rendition of prisoners by the US administration of president George W Bush. However, a group of opposition parties went already to [...]

Reactions to the Afghanistan campaigns of the UK and Germany

Read the Times verdict of the UK’s operation in Afghanistan here.ISN has more on the reactions to the German campaign in Afghanistan here.

Germany plans massive anti-terrorism action ahead of September’s general election

According to Der Spiegel, intelligence agencies believe that al-Qaida is planning to hit German targets abroad and possibly at home in the run up to the Sept. 27 vote that will pave the way for the next chancellor in revenge for the Germany’s military mission in Afghanistan and to put pressure on Berlin to withdraw [...]

German ‘Sauerland Cell’ Terrorism Suspects to Plead Guilty

German authorities arrested three suspects in September 2007 with 26 military detonators and 12 drums of hydrogen peroxide, more explosive material than that used in the 2004 bombings of commuter trains in Madrid, which killed nearly 200 people. The fourth man was arrested a few months later in Turkey.
German security officials said the suspects had [...]

Germany lower house passes measure to criminalize terrorist training camps

[JURIST] German legislators in the lower house of the Bundestag Thursday approved a bill that criminalizes training in terrorist camps, among other provisions.
Under existing law, prosecution of an individual for involvement in a suspected terrorist organization requires membership in the organization or support of it. The proposed legislation seeks to broaden the definition of [...]

German army eyes leasing of Israeli Gaza killer drones

The German army is interested in leasing ultra-modern Israeli drones which have been used in Gaza to kill Palestinians and the 2006 Lebanon war, the online site of the weekly Der Spiegel news magazine reported Saturday.
Planning to deploy the drones for aerial reconnaissance missions in Afghanistan, the German military is considering to lease the Israeli [...]

Germany contemplates general internet censorship infrastructure

(EDRI) The German Government, through Germany’s family minister Ursula von der Leyen as well as the head of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Jörg Ziercke, signed on 17 April 2009 “voluntary” contracts with 5 large ISPs (Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone/Arcor, Hanse Net, Kabel Deutschland and Telefonica O2 that have 75 per cent of the German [...]