BERLIN: A German court ruled Wednesday that a special forces soldier who believes he is at risk of attacks by militant extremists because he served in Afghanistan isn’t entitled to a private weapons permit.
The 42-year-old soldier, whose name the court didn’t release, first applied for a permit to carry a weapon in 2016. His request was rejected by police. He appealed that decision successfully to a court in the western town of Minden, but regional authorities appealed and a higher administrative court in Muenster on Wednesday ruled against the soldier.
The plaintiff is a member of the German military’s KSK special forces unit and served several times in Afghanistan.
The Muenster court ruled that people who fear attacks are only entitled to a weapons permit “if they demonstrate that they are significantly more endangered than the general public.”
But it said that the plaintiff failed to show that, and there was no evidence either that KSK members are at significantly elevated risk or that he had been identified as a target by Islamist groups. It said it also couldn’t establish that carrying a firearm would serve to reduce any such risk.
German forces pulled out of Afghanistan along with other Western forces in 2021 after nearly two decades.
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A German court denies weapons permit to a special forces soldier who served in Afghanistan
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A German court denies weapons permit to a special forces soldier who served in Afghanistan
- Regional authorities appealed and a higher administrative court in Muenster on Wednesday ruled against the soldier
- The plaintiff is a member of the German military’s KSK special forces unit and served several times in Afghanistan
Woman, boy drown off Greece after migrant boat sinks
ATHENS: A boat carrying over 50 migrants sank off the Greek coast, killing a woman and a boy and leaving three others missing, the coast guard said Sunday.
“Fifty migrants have been rescued and are being cared for by the authorities,” after the accident off the island of Ikria in the northern Aegean Sea, a spokeswoman said.
“A rescue operation with a coast guard vessel is underway, and a team of rescuers and divers is expected later today,” she said.
Strong winds were hampering rescue efforts, according to public broadcaster ERT.
Ikaria lies close to Turkiye’s western coast, a frequent setoff point for migrants trying to enter the European Union.
Many migrants also take the much longer route from Libya to Crete in southern Greece.
The perilous crossings are often fatal. In early December, 17 people were found dead after their boat sank off Crete and 15 others were reported missing. Only two people survived.
According to the UN refugee agency 107 people died or went missing in 2025 off the Greek coast. The International Organization for Migration says about 33,000 migrants have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean since 2014.
“Fifty migrants have been rescued and are being cared for by the authorities,” after the accident off the island of Ikria in the northern Aegean Sea, a spokeswoman said.
“A rescue operation with a coast guard vessel is underway, and a team of rescuers and divers is expected later today,” she said.
Strong winds were hampering rescue efforts, according to public broadcaster ERT.
Ikaria lies close to Turkiye’s western coast, a frequent setoff point for migrants trying to enter the European Union.
Many migrants also take the much longer route from Libya to Crete in southern Greece.
The perilous crossings are often fatal. In early December, 17 people were found dead after their boat sank off Crete and 15 others were reported missing. Only two people survived.
According to the UN refugee agency 107 people died or went missing in 2025 off the Greek coast. The International Organization for Migration says about 33,000 migrants have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean since 2014.
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