The German government is set to revamp its security protocols after a recent attack on a Christmas market exposed weaknesses in the country’s defense against terrorism, prompting calls for tougher laws and more robust intelligence gathering.
This came two days after a 50-year-old psychiatrist from Saudi Arabia with a history of anti-Islamic rhetoric, drove his car into a Christmas market, killing at least five people, raising questions about the security strength in the nation.
As gathered the investigation will focus on several key areas, including the effectiveness of surveillance and monitoring systems, the adequacy of security personnel and protocols, and the communication between different law enforcement agencies across the country.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, called for tougher internal security laws to be adopted, including a new act to strengthen police forces as well as the introduction of biometric surveillance.
“It is clear that we must do everything to protect the people of Germany from such horrific acts of violence. To do this, our security authorities need all the necessary powers and more personnel,” Faeser said.
Similarly, the president of the federal criminal police office (BKA), Holger Muench, also announced that Germany was reviewing security measures at Christmas markets and addressing any vulnerabilities.
According to Muench, the country had received a warning from Saudi Arabia as far back as 2023 about the suspect, which German authorities investigated but found vague.
“The man also published a huge number of posts on the Internet. He also had various contacts with the authorities and made insults and even threats. But he was not known for acts of violence,” Muench said.
However, the deputy head of a security committee in the Bundestag (parliament) announced he would convene a special session asking why previous warnings about the danger posed by the suspect, identified only as Taleb A. were not acted on.
Meanwhile, the main opposition Christian Democratic Union, which is on course to form the next government after an election in February, has called for the strengthening of intelligence services.
“We can no longer be satisfied with the fact that information about violent criminals and terrorists often only comes from foreign services”
“That is why our German security authorities need more powers of their own to gain more of their own knowledge, especially in the digital area. The security services also must be able to remove dangerous people from circulation based on such knowledge,” the justice spokesperson for the party, Guenter Krings said.
