BERLIN – An alleged German terrorist arrested last month in Vienna has been extradited to Germany, where authorities accuse him of belonging to the extremist German Taliban Mujahideen movement.
German federal prosecutors said the 26-year-old, identified only as Yusuf O., was arrested in Vienna on May 31 on a German warrant. He was taken to Germany on Monday and brought before a judge, who ordered that he remain in custody pending further investigation.
The suspect allegedly traveled to the Afghan-Pakistan border region in 2009 and joined the German Taliban Mujahideen by that September, prosecutors say.
"He is believed to have been trained in explosives and guns and have participated in the violent jihad of the German Taliban Mujahideen," they said in a statement that also alleged he "appeared in propaganda videos of the organization."
Upon his return to Europe in 2011, O. began recruiting supporters and members for the movement, including another suspect identified as 21-year-old Austrian Maqsood L., who was arrested on May 16 in Berlin.
Austrian Interior Ministry spokesman Rudolf Gollia also said Monday that Yusuf O. was in contact with another Austrian suspect, 25-year-old Thomas al-J., who was arrested in Vienna last week.
Austrian officials say they are investigating al-J. for planning plotting attacks in Germany, including vague plans to target the seat of Germany's parliament, the Reichstag in Berlin.
Germany's Interior Ministry said it had knowledge of plans for any such attack.
No comments:
Post a Comment