BERLIN: German police said Tuesday that they had arrested the suspected head of a Syrian smuggling gang that allegedly helped more than 1,000 people illegally enter Germany via Poland.
The 32-year-old suspect was detained at his home in the northeastern town of Aerzen, federal police said in a statement.
Police said the man made a living from his activities in the gang, which he is alleged to have led since 2021.
Depending on the route, the organization is said to have charged between 2,500 to 13,000 euros ($2,850 to $14,800) per person to smuggle them into Germany.
The gang transported over 1,000 people, mostly Syrians and Iraqis, into Germany and other European countries in around 100 different operations, police said.
The smuggled people were thought to have entered the European Union “on foot across the Belarusian border” before crossing from Poland into Germany, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said.
Police searched three properties in connection with the arrest, one belonging to the suspect in Aerzen and two apartments in nearby Rinteln and Hameln linked to two Syrian men in their twenties believed to have “acted as accomplices.”
Officers seized passports, residence permits and other documents during the raids.
Germany has sought to crack down on illegal entries into the country in the wake of a series of attacks by asylum seekers that sparked a bitter public debate over immigration.
The government took the decision to impose controls at all its borders last September, and has signalled it will keep them in place until the EU’s immigration system is overhauled again.
Immigration was a dominant theme during Germany’s recent national elections and is seen as a key factor behind the far-right Alternative for Germany’s historic score of over 20 percent.
Incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is set to take office next week, has vowed a tough line on immigration to respond to voter concerns.
German police arrest suspected leader of Syrian smuggling gang
https://arab.news/ysckw
German police arrest suspected leader of Syrian smuggling gang
- The 32-year-old suspect was detained at his home in the northeastern town of Aerzen
- Police said the man made a living from his activities in the gang
Palestine Action hunger strikers launch legal action against UK govt
- They accuse authorities of abandoning prison safety policies
- Several of the imprisoned activists have been hospitalized
LONDON: Hunger strikers from Palestine Action in the UK have launched legal action against the government, accusing it of abandoning the policy framework for prison safety, The Independent reported.
A pre-action letter was sent to Justice Secretary David Lammy by a legal firm representing the activists.
It came as several imprisoned members of the banned organization — including one who has refused food for 51 days — were hospitalized due to their deteriorating health while on hunger strike.
They say they have sent several letters to Lammy, who is also deputy prime minister, but have received no response.
He was urged in the latest letter to respond within 24 hours as the issue is a “matter of urgency.”
The letter added: “Our clients’ health continues to deteriorate, such that the risk of their dying increases every day.”
An “urgent meeting” is needed “with the proposed defendant to discuss the deterioration of our clients’ health and to discuss attempts to resolve the situation,” it said.
Seven of the Palestine Action prisoners have been admitted to hospital since the hunger strike was launched on Nov. 2, including 30-year-old Amu Gib and Kamran Ahmed, 28.
They are being held in prisons across the country. Two members of the group have been forced to end their hunger strike due to health conditions: Jon Cink, 25, ended on day 41, while 22-year-old Umer Khalid finished on day 13.
Gib, now on day 51, was hospitalized last week and reportedly needs a wheelchair due to health concerns.
Dr. James Smith, an emergency physician, warned journalists last Thursday that some of the imprisoned activists “are dying” and need specialized medical care.
In a letter signed by more than 800 doctors, Smith said the hunger strikers were at “very high risk of serious complications, including organ failure, irreversible neurological damage, cardiac arrhythmias and death.”
The strikers are demanding that Palestine Action, which is classified as a terrorist organization, be de-proscribed.
They are also urging the government to shut down defense companies with ties to Israel, among other demands.
In response to the latest letter, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We strongly refute these claims. We want these prisoners to accept support and get better, and we will not create perverse incentives that would encourage more people to put themselves at risk through hunger strikes.”
