Apparently, the suspected attacker of the Berlin Christopher Street Day (CSD), the Islamist Abdul Ballout, deliberately misled security authorities about his true intentions in the weeks leading up to the attack on July 25th. This is according to “Spiegel,” citing a chronology of actions taken by federal interior authorities.
According to the report, during contact meetings with the Berlin police, Ballout maintained that he had renounced his radical views and intended to lead a law-abiding life. After being convicted for an unsuccessful attempt to leave the country to join the “Islamic State” terrorist militia and subsequently released from custody, Ballout told the officers on May 12th that everything was “completely new” and that he would adhere to the law going forward. He promised never to use public transport without a valid ticket and committed to undergoing therapy.
However, phone calls listened to by the Berlin State Criminal Police Office (LKA) raised doubts regarding Ballout’s sincerity. While the Islamist did not discuss an attack, the official chronology revealed a communication pattern that was partly conspiratorial. When conversations seemed to lead toward potentially radical content, Ballout would interrupt the discussions. The LKA concluded that Ballout appeared to be anticipating that his communications might be monitored.
In another contact meeting on July 16th, Ballout truthfully reported to the officers that he had completed two appointments as part of a deradicalization program. Nine days later, on July 25th, he drove into a crowd in the Tiergarten near the Berlin CSD in a rented van. He then attacked festival visitors with a machete. One woman died, and many others sustained serious injuries.
