Federal prosecutor's office arrests suspected IS supporters

The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office has arrested two suspected supporters of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist militia in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. It accuses the two Russian nationals of having been members of a criminal organization that collected funds for IS in Germany and other European countries. A total of seven properties were searched simultaneously in Berlin, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Saxony, according to the Karlsruhe authorities.

The men are said to have joined the criminal group around two years ago. The group raised donations via social media in particular and sent the money to an IS member living abroad for forwarding. The money mainly benefited imprisoned women and IS fighters.

The federal prosecutor's office accuses the men of supporting a terrorist organization abroad and violating the Foreign Trade and Payments Act, among other things. Officers from the Federal Criminal Police Office, the Berlin and Brandenburg State Criminal Police Offices and local police forces from the federal states were involved in the arrests and searches on Thursday. The men were to be brought before the investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice later in the day. He will decide on their pre-trial detention.

Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) said that the arrests showed once again how strongly the security authorities are taking action against Islamist terror and its supporters. "We have the Islamist scene in our sights. This also and especially applies to those who support "IS" terror from Germany, form terror financing networks and collect donations."