Following the terrorist attack on Berlin’s Christopher Street Day, there is increasing pressure within the CDU/CSU legislative faction (Union) on the government to take harder stances against Islamist extremism. CDU deputies Johannes Wiegelmann and Frederik Bouffier, acting with the backing of the Young Group and the support of the new faction leader Thorsten Frei, have developed a “ten-point plan,” which was reported by the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung”. The core demand of this paper is for significantly stricter regulations concerning residence and deportation.
The plan also fleshes out measures recently announced by Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU). These include setting up electronic ankle monitors as the standard practice for individuals deemed a threat (“Gefährder”), and ensuring that youth criminal justice rules do not apply to these threats. Furthermore, the Union politicians are calling for nationwide, standardized rules regarding preventive detention. This is significant because rules currently vary widely-for instance, while detention might be allowed for four days in Berlin, it can extend up to two months in Bavaria. Wiegelmann told the “FAS”, “This attack could have been prevented.”
Specifically, the paper demands that the termination of stay for foreign threats become the “rule” rather than the exception, while the temporary status of tolerance must become an “absolute, justifiable exception.” The proposal further states that in cases of violent crimes, the law must presume that residence must be permanently terminated. Finally, supporting terrorist or Islamist organizations is to be punishable by a minimum five-year sentence. Additionally, participation in domestic terrorist actions should potentially lead to the loss of citizenship.
