German parties demanding clarification on ISIS returnees
German authorities keep tracking down those returning from Syria and Iraq.
Berlin
has not declared the number of nationals who had travelled to the two countries
in the past years and joined terrorist groups there.
Nonetheless,
German political parties and parliamentary blocs have called on the government
to release information about the fate of those who had returned from the two
countries as well as whether they pose danger to German security.
Most
of the requests submitted to the government in this regard so far came from the
right-wing Alternative for Germany Party. The party has lodged several requests
for the government, especially to the Foreign Ministry, for releasing information
about the fate of those who had returned from Syria and Iraq.
The
German Interior Ministry had conceded that it had classified 91 Islamists
returning from Syria and Iraq as a national security danger.
It
said it also classified 66 more people as having links.
Replying
to requests by the Alternative for Germany Party, the ministry said it
classifies a person as a national security danger when it expects the same
person to be involved in violence on political motivations.
Those
classified as "persons with links" are those who carry out leading
roles within Islamist circles or those who offer logistical support to
extremists, the ministry said.
The
German government had previously categorized 61 people as "dangerous
Islamists", after they had returned from other countries. It said these
people were ex-fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The
Federal Office for Criminal Police had earlier revealed that 355 German
nationals had returned from Syria and Iraq since 2012.
It
added that 266 of those who left Germany for the two countries were killed in
them.
