Calls in Germany to honour ‘hero’ refugees who caught terror suspect

Alasdair Sandford

 

 

BERLIN: -- The arrest of a migrant in Germany suspected of planning a major terrorist attack has prompted a campaign for the three Syrian refugees who captured him to be honoured.

 

Jaber al-Bakr who was suspected of plotting a bomb attack on a Berlin airport was reportedly found hanged on Wednesday while in police custody.

 

Police met with little resistance on Sunday night when they moved in to detain him because he had already been tied up by his captors.

 

After escaping from police surveillance, he had approached the men in Leipzig and asked for shelter, and was taken to the flat.

 

But the trio recognised him from public appeals.

 

One of the men, Mohamed A, was interviewed by RTL in Germany. He wore a hood and his face was not shown; the trio have not been identified for fear of reprisals.

 

“(On Sunday morning) we went swimming and on the way back we discovered from pictures on Facebook that he was the wanted person. When we came back to the apartment, we tied him up and called the police,” he said.

 

The men used an electric cable to tie him up after first overpowering him. They had realised the fellow Syrian they had agreed to help looked like the man police suspected of links to the so-called Islamic State.

 

They called the police, but speaking only Arabic had trouble making themselves understood. A visit to the police station followed.

“Because I don’t speak German it took time to explain to them. In the end I showed them the pictures and they knew what I was on about and they came and arrested him,” Mohamed A added.

 

There have been calls from politicians and on social media for the three Syrians to be awarded the Federal Cross of Merit, and be granted asylum.

 

They say they refused to give in to their captive’s pleas.

 

“He tried to bribe us with money for us to release him. We told him we won’t let him go it doesn’t matter how much he pays,” Mohamed A said.

Al-Bakr appeared in court earlier this week.

 

Police had been looking for the 22-year-old after finding bomb-making equipment in a flat in Chemnitz.

 

The actions of the Syrians who captured him are being heralded as a rare good news story amid the migration crisis in Germany and Europe. Last year’s influx of nearly 900,000 migrants has raised fears about security, especially after some were involved in attacks in July.

 

“No one welcomes Syrians like this country,” Mohamed A said. “We respect this country and its people, its government and its laws. We don’t want something like this to happen here.”

 

 

-- © Copyright Euronews 2016-10-13

BERLIN (AP) - German officials say Syrian man arrested in a bomb plot has killed himself in prison cell.

We need more of these positive stories to be spread. Not only so that Westerners can see that not all Muslims are terrorists, but to encourage more Muslims to hand over those who would cause terror and harm others.

I'm not surprised Mohamed A. had his face covered, if his identity was known he undoubtedly wouldn't be long among the living. Agree, if there were more stories like this then many would see that not all Muslims are terrorists, and would no doubt reduce Islamophobia.

 

Sadly though, these type of stories seem to be very very rare.

One swallow doth not a summer make. Security authorities can ill afford to drop their guard, and until there is a very deliberate and concerted action by muslim refugees to oppose terrorism and expose the terrorists in their midst, this kind of feel-good story will only ever be a happenstance. Kudos to those guys, but the story also highlights the dangers that seem unlikely to ever be resolved.

18 minutes ago, Dexlowe said:

One swallow doth not a summer make. Security authorities can ill afford to drop their guard, and until there is a very deliberate and concerted action by muslim refugees to oppose terrorism and expose the terrorists in their midst, this kind of feel-good story will only ever be a happenstance. Kudos to those guys, but the story also highlights the dangers that seem unlikely to ever be resolved.

Amazing!

All the time, you and your ilk ask for refugees and Muslims to contribute, to make efforts to fit into western society.

And when they do, you find a way to turn this into a "one swallow"- comment! 

Yeah...terror seems to be a danger that is unlikely to ever be resolved!

No sh1t, Sherlock!

But these three guys made an effort to minimize it!

It should be met with NOTHING but wholehearted praise!

^^^ Reality's a bitch, ain't it? I did say "kudos to those guys" -- I admire them for what they did, for they likely saved a lot of lives, and that should be recognized. But meanwhile, back in the jungle ....

1 hour ago, DM07 said:

Amazing!

All the time, you and your ilk ask for refugees and Muslims to contribute, to make efforts to fit into western society.

And when they do, you find a way to turn this into a "one swallow"- comment! 

Yeah...terror seems to be a danger that is unlikely to ever be resolved!

No sh1t, Sherlock!

But these three guys made an effort to minimize it!

It should be met with NOTHING but wholehearted praise!

Yes Angela you finally found 1 small kernel of good in all this mess you have created. Congratulations. 

2 hours ago, Dexlowe said:

One swallow doth not a summer make. Security authorities can ill afford to drop their guard, and until there is a very deliberate and concerted action by muslim refugees to oppose terrorism and expose the terrorists in their midst, this kind of feel-good story will only ever be a happenstance. Kudos to those guys, but the story also highlights the dangers that seem unlikely to ever be resolved.

 

One swallow doesn't make a summer but a handful of terrorists makes evey Muslim a terrorist?

15 minutes ago, RuamRudy said:

 

One swallow doesn't make a summer but a handful of terrorists makes evey Muslim a terrorist?

 

Taken completely out of context and twisted - well done. Here is what you're missing: Regardless of this excellent outcome, caution is still the watchword of the day given that the demographics of the migrants seem to be predominantly young men. If you want to get all warm and fuzzy over one (very praiseworthy) incident, then fine. I'm happy about it as well, but as I said above: Meanwhile, back in the jungle ... let's keep our feet on the ground. 

8 minutes ago, Dexlowe said:

Taken completely out of context and twisted - well done.

 

In what way? Please explain.

^^^ hmmmm -- let's see now. The point was to praise the actions of the young blokes, but caution .... nah. Enough. If you want to twist my words to mean that I believe every Muslim is a terrorist, fine. I don't, although I do make a point of checking the insides of the rotisserie chicken I buy off my lovely Muslim woman in Khao Noi..

 

Time for a cup of tea.

3 minutes ago, Dexlowe said:

^^^ hmmmm -- let's see now. The point was to praise the actions of the young blokes, but caution .... nah. Enough. If you want to twist my words to mean that I believe every Muslim is a terrorist, fine. I don't, although I do make a point of checking the insides of the rotisserie chicken I buy off my lovely Muslim woman in Khao Noi..

 

Time for a cup of tea.

 

I am not twisting anybody's words; you have stated on two occassions now:

 

22 minutes ago, Dexlowe said:

Meanwhile, back in the jungle

 

What should one infer from that, because my take is that you think these gentelmen are the exception rather than the norm?

3 minutes ago, RuamRudy said:

 

I am not twisting anybody's words; you have stated on two occassions now:

 

 

What should one infer from that, because my take is that you think these gentelmen are the exception rather than the norm?

 

Exception? It would seem they are. Sadly, we are not privy to any intelligence coming from the Muslim community that is helping the authorities, for obvious reasons, but overt expressions, let alone any actions, of opposition to infiltrated terrorists are rare. Let me make clear once again that I applaud the young Syrians for what they did - but they must remain anonymous for fear of retribution, sadly. But let's keep our eye on the ball.

3 hours ago, Dexlowe said:

One swallow doth not a summer make. Security authorities can ill afford to drop their guard, and until there is a very deliberate and concerted action by muslim refugees to oppose terrorism and expose the terrorists in their midst, this kind of feel-good story will only ever be a happenstance. Kudos to those guys, but the story also highlights the dangerNs that seem unlikely to ever be resolved.

Neil Armstrong 

One small step for man one giant leap for mankind

4 hours ago, Rancid said:

I'm not surprised Mohamed A. had his face covered, if his identity was known he undoubtedly wouldn't be long among the living. Agree, if there were more stories like this then many would see that not all Muslims are terrorists, and would no doubt reduce Islamophobia.

 

Sadly though, these type of stories seem to be very very rare.

 

Unfortunately you are correct, the reason being mainstream media rarely talks to positive contributions by the Muslim community e.g. in Oz where I believe you're from. Unsure about other countries, but in Oz the previous head of domestic intelligence clearly stated the Muslim community are a great contributor for intelligence work.

2 hours ago, elgordo38 said:

Yes Angela you finally found 1 small kernel of good in all this mess you have created. Congratulations. 

What "mess" are you on about?

 

When these guys starting owning their own problem it will be over. It was always the real problem. They don't operate in a vacuum.  I alway's suspected it was the real problem. Everyone is scared to death of upsetting the hard-line Muslims. Go for it guys, safety in numbers. And you're <deleted> in the West if you don't.