Germany jails two Afghans in suspected Sweden attack plot

AFP | Berlin, Germany
Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

Two Afghan men linked to the Islamic State group were jailed in Germany on Thursday for planning an attack on the Swedish parliament in retaliation for Koran burnings by protestors.

The two suspects, identified as Ibrahim M. G. and Ramin N., had allegedly tried but failed to buy guns for the plot.

They were found guilty of plotting to "kill members of parliament... in response to the burning of Korans in Sweden", the higher regional court in Thuringia said in a statement.

Ibrahim M. G., 30, was sentenced to five years and six months in jail, and Ramin N., 24, received a sentence of four years and two months.

The defendants, who arrived in Germany in 2015 and 2016 respectively, were Islamic State sympathisers who "shared the IS worldview and endorsed (its) violent approach", the court said.

In August 2023, Ibrahim M. G. became a member of the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), an offshoot of IS, the court said.

The two men hatched a plot to "kill members of parliament and anyone who tried to stop the attack with firearms in the area of the Swedish parliament", the court said.

They had searched the internet for locations in Stockholm, how to travel to Sweden and how to acquire firearms.

They had also travelled to the Czech Republic to purchase firearms on the black market but the plan had fallen through.

They were arrested in the Gera area of eastern Germany in March 2024.

Both men were found guilty of plotting to commit a crime. Ibrahim M.G. was also convicted of being a member of a terrorist organisation, and Ramin N. of supporting a terrorist organisation.

IS-K was "an especially dangerous terrorist organisation whose attacks and atrocities were known to and endorsed by the defendants", the court said.

Prior to the plot, Ibrahim M. G. was also found to have arranged for 200 euros ($210) to be transferred to an Iranian bank account for the support of women and children of IS fighters at the Al-Hol camp in Syria.

Ibrahim M. G. made a full confession during the trial.

Islamist extremists have committed several attacks in Germany in recent years, the deadliest being a truck rampage at a Berlin Christmas market in December 2016 that killed 12 people.

Islamist motives are also suspected in several recent stabbings and car ramming attacks blamed on migrants in Germany, which have led to a bitter debate on migration.

In October 2023, German prosecutors charged two Syrian brothers for planning an attack inspired by IS at a church in Sweden over Koran burnings.

A series of Koran burnings were held across Sweden in 2023, mainly by immigration opponents, sparking outrage in the Muslim world.