The police were deployed in large numbers in Solingen.Image: keystone
The fatal knife attack in Solingen is also a concern for Swiss politics. Four parliamentarians who were asked to comment agree that there is a problem with radicalized people in this country too. However, opinions differ widely when it comes to possible solutions.
27.08.2024, 04:5327.08.2024, 12:29
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The shock is deep in the western German town of Solingen. The city festival, which was supposed to celebrate Solingen’s 650th anniversary this weekend as a “Festival of Diversity”, was abruptly stopped.
On Friday evening, 26-year-old Syrian refugee Issa al-H. allegedly killed three people and injured at least eight others, some seriously, with a knife. The man swung his knife around like a machete, the main organizer told the Daily AdvertiserIt is also said that he stabbed festival-goers from behind and specifically in the neck and upper body area.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz lays flowers in memory of the victims of the knife attack. Image: keystone
One day after the attack, the Syrian turned himself in to the police. He confessed. The Syrian terrorist group “Islamic State” (IS) claimed responsibility for the knife attack. The 26-year-old carried out the attack to take revenge for Muslims in Palestine and other places.
As usual, after attacks of this kind, possible consequences are immediately discussed. Brandenburg’s Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) is calling for a knife ban. He said:
“Knives, especially if they are made to injure others, should be banned on the streets.”
SVP politician Benjamin Fischer has little support for this demand. On the contrary: “A knife ban is completely absurd nonsense. The demand for such a ban only shows how overwhelmed and desperate German politics is.”
Benjamin Fischer (SVP) does not believe in a knife ban.Image: keystone
Fischer argues that an assassin would hardly follow such a rule:
“People who stab others with knives are the last thing they care about in any kind of ban.”
According to SP National Councilor Fabian Molina, both a knife register and a ban on certain knives should be examined in more detail. The spread of dangerous knives and the crimes committed with them are increasing. “The cantonal and municipal police forces in this country are rightly warning of the dangers associated with them.”
A ban on knives should be considered, says Fabian Molina of the SP.Image: keystone
Algorithms promote radicalization
Green National Councillor Gerhard Andrey also sees the problem of radicalisation of perpetrators like the one in Solingen on the internet – especially among young people. “Algorithms on social media are enormous radicalisation accelerators.” Andrey explains:
“If you get caught up in such a vortex, it can be addictive and really whip you up.”
Algorithms on social media are one of the causes of radical behavior, says Green National Councillor Gerhard Andrey.Image: keystone
Instead of knife bans, which are difficult to enforce, it would be more effective to protect young people from radicalising content on social media.
The European Union has already taken action on Platform X, said Andrey. That is important. “It cannot be that our entire society is radicalized and thus fuels terrorism just because of the very lucrative advertising business of such platforms.”
Centre Council of States member Marianne Binder-Keller also calls for more restrictions in the digital space:
“Certain social media, which are a kind of breeding ground for IS or other extreme movements, must be able to be restricted.”
Marianne Binder-Keller (centre) calls for stronger monitoring of social networks.Image: keystone
For SVP National Councillor Benjamin Fischer, however, the cause of the attack in Solingen lies in the overly lax migration policy – in this case that of the German authorities.
“This knife attack was an Islamist assassination attempt carried out by a Syrian who should have already been deported. However, the deportation was not carried out, so the blame lies with the authorities,” said Fischer.
Centre Councillor of States Marianne Binder-Keller sees the situation similarly and states:
“It is not the knife that kills, but the person who holds it, and that is why the problem is fundamental.”
She also stresses that the German authorities should have already deported Issa al-H.
Issa al-H. was allowed to stay in Germany
In fact, according to media reports, Issa al-H., the suspected perpetrator of the Solingen attack, should have been deported long ago. According to the rules of the European asylum system, Bulgaria would have been responsible for the Syrian as the country of first entry into the EU.
When they tried to deport him to Bulgaria last summer, the Syrian went into hiding. At the end of 2023, Issa al-H. received subsidiary protection from Germany. Until recently, he lived in a refugee shelter in Solingen, just a few hundred meters from the crime scene.
Subsidiary protection
A person receives subsidiary protectionif, although they are not being persecuted for certain reasons like an asylum seeker or refugee, they are nevertheless at risk of serious harm in their home country due to serious human rights violations. Persons granted subsidiary protection are entitled to a residence permit, which is initially issued for one year. If the situation in the country of origin does not improve during this time, the residence permit is extended for a further two years.
Issa al-H. was not on a so-called dangerous list, which lists people suspected of being capable of carrying out Islamist attacks. In addition, he was not known as a criminal or extremist to the authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia or the relevant federal authorities.
The alleged perpetrator on his way to the investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice.Image: keystone
The danger of radicalization exists for people with and without a migration background, says Gerhard Andrey of the Greens. After attacks of this kind, drawing a general connection between radical ideas and migrants is “too simplistic” and “a dangerous attitude.”
Andrey continued that individual cases such as the attack in Solingen were dramatic, horrific and absolutely unacceptable. But: “Trying to use this to popularize anti-immigration policies is populist.”
The situation in Switzerland
There was also an Islamist-motivated knife attack in Switzerland this year. In March, a 15-year-old Swiss boy with Tunisian roots attacked an Orthodox Jew in Zurich, seriously injuring him. The 50-year-old victim survived the attack, but initially had to receive intensive care.
According to the latest security report of the Federal Intelligence Service (NDB), the terrorist threat in Switzerland is currently considered to be “increased”. According to the Sunday Newspaper 47 people are on the NDB’s risk list. These are people “who support or encourage terrorism”.
Benjamin Fischer and the SVP demand that Switzerland take consistent action against potential threats. The “Islamic State” has been calling for knife attacks for some time, and the increasing radicalization can also be observed in Switzerland. “But when we demand that suspicious people be searched specifically, some idiots come along and talk about racial profiling,” says Fischer.
Marianne Binder-Keller warns that Switzerland is abandoning its basic values by tolerating intolerant forces. Therefore, potential perpetrators must be “checked much more consistently for anti-constitutional ideology.” In addition, the funds for security must be increased, says the centrist Council of States member.
Fabian Molina takes a contrary view. In Switzerland, young people are becoming radicalized regardless of their nationality, including many with Swiss passports, according to the SP National Councilor. Molina argues:
“We must remove the breeding ground for Islamism and take action against radicalization. Xenophobic slogans after Solingen are cheap populism.”
Compared to the Sunday Newspaper The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) announced that the number of cases in the area of terrorism had “increased significantly” in recent years. According to the OAG, there are currently around 100 cases pending in Switzerland in connection with radical Islamism, involving offenses such as spreading propaganda and financing terrorism.
A spokesman for the Federal Prosecutor’s Office said: “This shows that the phenomenon of jihadist-motivated terrorism has by no means disappeared in Switzerland, but is still very present.”
