Pro-Hamas demonstrators marching in Munich, Germany. Photo: Reuters/Alexander Pohl
Prosecutors said on Tuesday that three men have been indicted for an alleged plan to attack a Jewish facility in Germany.
The main suspect, a 25-year-old German citizen, was already in police custody because he was accused of attempted manslaughter for trying to kill a German police officer during a raid in May connected to the alleged plan to attack the Jewish site, according to the Associated Press. He has now been charged with preparing a serious act of violence and conspiracy to murder.
The 25-year-old flew to Istanbul, Turkey, in April with the hopes of traveling further to Syria to join extremist Islamic terrorists, according to prosecutors in Stuttgart, Germany, cited by the AP. When his plan was unsuccessful, he returned to Germany and allegedly plotted, along with an 18-year-old German-Turkish dual national, to attack a Jewish facility in the western Germany cities of Heidelberg or Mannheim.
The two men discussed getting fatally shot by police after their attack and having a video released in which they claim responsibility and make accusations against German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for Germany’s support of Israel, prosecutors said. They added that the main goal of the attack was to end relations between Germany and Israel.
The 18-year-old was charged with being an accessory to preparing a serious act of violence and conspiracy to murder.
Meanwhile, another 25-year-old German was charged with being an accessory to preparing a serious act of violence. Specifically, he was accused of driving the main suspect to Stuttgart Airport while knowing that his plan was to travel to Syria and join a group of Islamic terrorists.
The identity of the three men has not been revealed due to local privacy laws, and it is still undetermined whether their case will go to trial, according to the AP.