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| Europe |
| Thousands of Afghan refugees in Germany claim to be former Taliban fighters – Der Spiegel |
| 2017-04-22 |
| The weekly also says that the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office has already opened criminal cases against 70 Afghan refugees after verifying their statements. Six asylum seekers have been already arrested, the media reports, adding that legal action against some of the suspects will be initiated next week. However, it is still unclear if all refugees who declared themselves Taliban fighters indeed fought for the extremists or had links to any radical group. According to Der Spiegel, the German authorities suspect that some asylum seekers may be seeking to boost their prospects of receiving asylum in Germany in this way, as affiliation with the Taliban is punishable with the death penalty in Afghanistan. In November 2016, it was reported that the German authorities planned to send home some 12,000 Afghans as they considered the security situation in Afghanistan safe enough. Under such circumstances, the refugees might try to indicate that it is not safe for them to be sent back because they would face imminent death at the hands of the authorities. However, German security services expect a surge in anti-terrorist investigations against alleged Taliban fighters in addition to the inquiries, which were already launched against the members of Islamic State (IS, former ISIS/ISIL) terrorist group in Germany. |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #1 Former, and current.... |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2017-04-22 20:08 |