Following the suspension of his pre-trial detention, the 19-year-old terror suspect from Halle is being closely monitored by the police. He is alleged to have planned an attack on the synagogue in Halle. New details have emerged about his activities on the messaging app Telegram and the weapon seized from him.
- Instructions for building a bomb are said to have circulated in a chat group belonging to the 19-year-old terror suspect .
- The rifle seized was apparently not an automatic weapon .
- According to MDR information, an electronic ankle bracelet for the terror suspect is to be considered.
New details have been discovered about the 19-year-old terror suspect who allegedly planned an attack on the Halle synagogue . The man, who is currently at large in Halle , is said to have announced his attack plans in several chat groups on the Telegram messaging service, reaching a significant number of people there. Instructions for building a bomb are also said to have circulated in one of these groups. According to MDR, the Ministry of the Interior announced this to the Interior Committee of the State Parliament behind closed doors at the end of May.
Attack plans: Investigations continue
When asked by MDR whether the 19-year-old wanted to use the bomb-making instructions for his attack plans and may even have downloaded them, the responsible public prosecutor’s office in Halle did not want to comment on this – or on the existence of the instructions in general.
The analysis of seized electronic communications is still ongoing. Investigations into the motive for the crime and statements in chat groups are also ongoing, so the company will not comment on MDR’s questions, said spokesperson Benedikt Bernzen. According to the public prosecutor’s office, the man denies having seriously pursued the attack plans.
The weapon seized is said to be a “long rifle”
According to MDR, new information has also been provided to the Interior Committee regarding the rifle seized from the suspect. It is said to be a so-called long rifle, specifically a weapon that must be manually reloaded after each shot. The 19-year-old’s motive is also said to have been clearly right-wing extremist and anti-Semitic.
When asked, the public prosecutor’s office did not want to provide any information about how the confiscated rifle worked.
Terror suspect monitored around the clock
After the man, originally from Halle, was arrested in Switzerland in February and handed over to German authorities in April, the Halle District Court suspended his pre-trial detention on bail . He is currently reportedly living with relatives not far from the Halle synagogue. As the Interior Committee was informed, he is being monitored 24 hours a day by police. As the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung also reported on Monday, four plainclothes officers are on duty around the clock.
According to MDR information, the suspect will also be required to report to a police station once a day. Apparently, an electronic ankle bracelet is currently being considered for the 19-year-old. However, the Halle public prosecutor’s office declined to confirm this when contacted.
Suspended pre-trial detention: These are the reasons
The comprehensive measures suggest that the security authorities consider the suspect to be sufficiently dangerous. Various reasons have been heard from parliamentary circles as to why the man was released from custody. These include the fact that he reportedly stated a permanent residence in Halle, that he is still considered a juvenile, that there is apparently no risk of obstruction of justice—meaning all evidence has been secured—that bail has been posted, that he has been given a strict reporting requirement, and that his passport has allegedly been confiscated.
In response to an inquiry from MDR, the public prosecutor’s office added that the execution of an arrest warrant—i.e., pre-trial detention—is only justified if there is a risk of escape. From the authorities’ perspective, this apparently does not exist.
The synagogue in Halle was already the target of an attacker in 2019. The man attempted to enter the Jewish house of worship. After failing to enter the door, he shot a passerby and later a young man in a kebab shop.
