The European Football Championship starts in Germany in less than a week. Outside the stadiums there will again be many fan festivals with audiences throughout the country, where fans from all countries want to celebrate peacefully with each other. Work has to be done to ensure that everything runs safely Police and state security are already in full swing. And this work has now apparently paid off. Because law enforcement officers may have thwarted a terrorist attack during a public viewing.
Islamist suspect
How” Image” According to reports, counter-terrorism investigators have now discovered an Islamist who has applied to become a steward at UEFA. With official accreditation, he wanted to stay outside the arenas during the European Championships as a security guard and steward for the events. But investigators discovered the suspect in time.
According to the report, investigators from the NRW State Criminal Investigation Department checked 23-year-old German-Moroccan-Polish national Soufian T. from Bonn last week. When checking his accreditation application, authorities found that there was evidence of Islamist activities by Soufian T. The accreditation was therefore rejected by the police headquarters in Cologne.
The federal investigation is getting involved
Shortly after the rejection, state security officials learned that Soufian T. had also applied for accreditation for major events in Rhineland-Palatinate, including “Rock am Ring” and the “24-hour race at the Nürburgring”. Due to further investigation and findings, the Federal Criminal Investigation Department (BKA) was called in. It also emerged that the suspect had booked a one-way ticket to Istanbul in early May.
The investigation revealed suspicious financial flows and internet activities, which strengthened the suspicion of support for a terrorist organization abroad. The federal attorney general started an investigation against Soufian T. on suspicion of supporting the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISPK).
After the arrest, state security officials cautiously gave the all-clear for the first time and do not assume that there is currently a specific danger to the European Championship. Soufian T. does not appear to be a member of an active terrorist cell. However, the investigation is still ongoing to fully clarify all background information.