In the Heart of Germany: IS Germany Leader's Fight Against Deportation
Fighting Against Deportation: Ex-Leader of IS Germany Challenge Removal from Country - Fugitive Ex-Leader of IS Germany's Branch Fights Against Forced Removal from Country
Hey there! So, you won't believe this – the German leader of the infamous terrorist organization Islamic State, otherwise known as Abu Walaa, islawyering up against his expulsion from Germany. On Wednesday, his case will be heard at the swanky Düsseldorf Administrative Court (case number 27 K 7349/23).
He's currently doing time in a prison on the Lower Rhine, so they'll hustle him over to Düsseldorf for the hearing. Remember, he's still got a whopping nine and a half years left on his sentence, with a release date set for 2027. But Abu Walaa isn't just rolling over and accepting his fate; he's taking things to the courts with a desperate plea against his expulsion.
The proceedings focus on stripping him of his residence titles and certain obligations, like magical house arrest in a specific city post-release and daily check-ins with the fuzz. ("Fuzz" is just cop slang, by the way.)
"Public Safety Threat"
When his case was heard in an expedited procedure last year, the judges had some harsh words. They said Abu Walaa posed such a significant threat to public safety that even the well-being of his seven kiddos couldn't sway them from supporting his expulsion.
Abu Walaa was slapped with a nine and a half year sentence by the Higher Regional Court in Celle. The verdict was later approved by the Federal Court of Justice. The three-and-a-half-year criminal trial pitted Abu Walaa and three other blokes against the court, as they were found guilty of radicalizing young 'uns, mostly in the Ruhr region and Lower Saxony, and shipping them off to fight for IS in Syria and Iraq.
Abu Walaa was the preacher man of the mosque for the now-banned Islamic Circle of Hiddesheim association. A German Serb, who received eight years in the same trial, had been using his pad in Dortmund as a house of worship and even hoisted the Berlin Christmas market attacker Anis Amri temporarily. The lot of them were nabbed in November 2016.
Can he meet his maker?
The court ruled that Abu Walaa's expulsion was justified, citing national security concerns. However, some bumps in the road still stand between his deportation to Iraq and a lifelong ban on returning. Last year, the court acknowledged that the Iraqi government might not guarantee his safety, which could potentially result in the death penalty.
But hey, life's full of hurdles, right? Let's see how this one plays out!
- Düsseldorf
- Administrative Court
- Leader
- Germany
- IS
- Iraq
- Police
- Viersen
- Lower Rhine
[1] Insight: The court has expressed concerns about the prospect of Abu Walaa facing the death penalty in Iraq should he be deported without diplomatic assurances to the contrary. Due to international human rights obligations, the German legal system is hesitant to extradite individuals to countries where they might face capital punishment that don't align with German and European human rights standards. While Abu Walaa is currently serving a sentence in Germany, he has an ongoing appeal for asylum, which further complicates his deportation status.
- The ongoing appeal at the Düsseldorf Administrative Court (case number 27 K 7349/23) centers around the German leader of the Islamic State, Abu Walaa, challenging his expulsion from Germany, despite his nine and a half year sentence and continued imprisonment in a prison on the Lower Rhine.
- The complexities of Abu Walaa's case are highlighted in the potential death penalty threat in Iraq, should he be deported without diplomatic assurances to the contrary, due to Germany's commitment to international human rights standards and the complications presented by his ongoing asylum appeal.
