Germany's coalition government agreed on Thursday to tighten security and asylum policies after a deadly knife attack linked to the Islamic State group fueled far-right opposition and criticism of the approach of Berlin's immigration policy.
Three people were killed and eight injured in the attack which took place during a festival to mark the 650th anniversary of Solingen. The incident heightened a political row over asylum and deportation rules ahead of state elections next month, as the suspect was a rejected asylum seeker from Syria.
The package introduces stricter gun regulations, including stricter ownership rules, a blanket ban on pocket knives and an outright ban on knives at public events such as festivals, sporting events and trade shows.
Federal police officers would be authorized to use Tasers and background checks for gun licenses will include new federal agencies to prevent extremists from getting guns.
Berlin will also tighten asylum and residence laws and procedures, including lowering the threshold for “serious deportation” when the deportee has committed a crime involving a weapon or dangerous instrument.
The criteria for excluding people from asylum or refugee status will be tightened, including tougher sentences for serious crimes, including for young offenders.
Asylum seekers will be barred from receiving benefits in Germany if they have claims in other European countries, and refugees who travel to their home countries without compelling reasons risk losing their protection status, the document says.
this rule will not apply to Ukrainian refugees, it says.
The government will push for reforms to the Common European Asylum System, simplifying transfers and deportations, and will also seek to make it possible to deport people who have committed serious crimes or perceived terrorist threats to Afghanistan and Syria.
The package also outlines measures to combat “violent Islamism,'' including allowing law enforcement to use biometric data from publicly accessible online sources of facial recognition to identify suspects.
The government will strengthen domestic intelligence agency powers when it comes to financial investigations and continue to ban Islamist organizations, according to a government document outlining the meters.
Source: KYPE
