Knife attack in Solingen: Ministry admits shortcomings

New inconsistencies regarding the Solingen suspect: The NRW Refugee Ministry admits new failures by the authorities.

Almost two weeks after the suspected Islamist attack in Solingen that left three people dead, new details about the Syrian suspect have emerged. Issa al-Hassan's movement profile revealed that he had not been in the emergency accommodation assigned to him in Paderborn for around a week from April 18 to 24, 2023. This is according to a report by the NRW Refugee Ministry for the State Parliament.

It refers to a current report by the Detmold district government, which provides further details on the transfer procedure to Bulgaria that failed in June 2023. According to the district government, another Syrian was to be picked up and deported from the accommodation in Paderborn alongside Issa al-Hassan on June 5, 2023 at 2:30 a.m. Neither person was found on the night of the raid. However, the Solingen suspect Issa al-Hassan was present at the accommodation during the day at lunch.

video | Here the alleged perpetrator is brought before the judge

The Central Aliens Authority (ZAB) in Bielefeld was not aware of Issa al-Hassan's extended absence in April 2023, it said. In this respect, the authority did not consider a so-called night-time order. This could have required Issa al-Hassan to stay in his room at night. This would also have made it possible to extend the six-month transfer period to Bulgaria in the event of an absence.

According to a report by the Detmold district government, the suspect arrived at the Bochum state reception center on January 3, 2023 and was then initially transferred to other accommodations in Bad Salzuflen and Bielefeld before arriving in Paderborn at the end of February 2023. During his stay in the Paderborn emergency accommodation, Issa al-Hassan “always behaved inconspicuously,” the report states. “Tendencies toward radicalization were not observed.”

Issa al-Hassan is suspected of having killed three people with a knife and injured eight others in the attack on a city festival in Solingen on August 23. According to the EU's Dublin asylum rules, he should have been transferred to Bulgaria, because that is where he was first registered. NRW Refugee Minister Josefine Paul (Greens) came under political pressure because of the authorities' failure to deport the Solingen suspect in a timely manner.