Potential terrorist detained in connection with threat to Cologne Cathedral

A thirty-year-old citizen of Tajikistan was detained in connection with an investigation into possible preparations for a terrorist attack in the Cologne Cathedral.

The investigation was carried out by the German intelligence services. During a search on December 24 in an apartment in the city of Wesel (100 km from Cologne), five men were detained. Four were released after verification, and the fifth was arrested “in order to prevent danger.” According to the police, writes DW, regarding the Tajik, “there is information that is significant from the point of view of state security.” The Oberhausen District Court, at the request of the Cologne police, confirmed a preventive measure against the Tajik in the form of detention until January 7, 2024.

According to Michael Esser, head of the criminal police, the police are conducting the investigation under great pressure and “are resorting to all legal measures to protect people and Cologne Cathedral, to ensure safety during the New Year’s holidays.”

German security authorities are showing increased vigilance amid the threat of terrorist attacks that, according to German and Austrian intelligence services, Islamists could be preparing in Cologne and Vienna during the Christmas and New Year celebrations. A representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs says:

“Currently, there is an increased threat from Islamist terrorism. In this regard, security authorities at the federal and state levels are acting with maximum vigilance.”

Cologne Cathedral, which typically attracts around 100,000 visitors during Christmas and New Year celebrations, remains closed to most tourists. The only exception is for those who have pre-registered for excursions inside the cathedral. A visit to his treasury and observation deck in the southern tower of the temple is currently impossible. As the head of the security service of the Cologne Cathedral said, “all liturgical events are carried out” as planned. Believers can attend the service after being searched by the police.

On the eve of Christmas, December 23, German media reported, citing intelligence services, that the Cologne Cathedral in Germany, as well as one of the churches in Vienna, could become targets of terrorist attacks. According to Cologne police, suspicions pointed to the danger of a terrorist attack during the New Year celebrations, but security measures in the cathedral were strengthened already before Christmas, celebrated by the Catholic and Protestant churches on December 25.

Already on Christmas Eve, December 24, the police began searching incoming people, having first carefully examined the Cologne Cathedral with sniffer dogs. No suspicious items were found.

German Interior Minister Nancy Feser warned in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper that the threat of attacks from radical Islamist groups in Germany continues to grow. The risk of “radicalization by violent Islamists is high” and is taken very seriously by the federal government, she said: “Lone lone Islamist criminals are a danger that always exists.”

According to the media group RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND), by December 7, 486 Islamists posing a threat had been identified in Germany. The Federal Criminal Office suggests that a possible further escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas may be perceived by some radical Islamists as “incitement to attack.”

Due to increased threat In the wake of Islamist terrorist attacks, security measures have also been strengthened in Austria. On December 24, four people were detained in Vienna. Three of them – two men and a woman – are now in pre-trial detention cells. An investigation has been launched against them on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist association in conjunction with terrorist crimes. As dpa reported on December 26, citing the Austrian prosecutor’s office, the police are examining mobile phones and other data carriers confiscated during searches.

Legend of Cologne Cathedral. Mysticism and history:

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