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| Germany Proposes Tougher Measures to Combat Terrorism | Germany Proposes Tougher Measures to Combat Terrorism |
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| ROSTOCK, Germany — After two attacks by terrorists pledging loyalty to the Islamic State and a deadly shooting rampage in Munich, Germany’s interior minister proposed a wide range of measures to bolster security on Thursday, including closer monitoring of refugees, enhanced cybersurveillance, the hiring of more federal police officers and making it a crime to express sympathy for terrorism. | ROSTOCK, Germany — After two attacks by terrorists pledging loyalty to the Islamic State and a deadly shooting rampage in Munich, Germany’s interior minister proposed a wide range of measures to bolster security on Thursday, including closer monitoring of refugees, enhanced cybersurveillance, the hiring of more federal police officers and making it a crime to express sympathy for terrorism. |
| The proposals, announced in Berlin by the interior minister, Thomas de Maizière, also called for greater sharing of intelligence data across Europe; a closer watch on the “dark web,” the part of the internet that is invisible to ordinary users; stripping the German citizenship of dual citizens who fight for extremist groups; and making it easier to deport foreigners deemed to be dangerous. | |
| The proposals to strengthen the federal government’s intelligence-gathering powers are likely to be particularly fraught for a country where the legacies of Nazi and Communist control left a deep suspicion of official surveillance on citizens, and where the powers of the central government remain limited because of the history of totalitarian control. | The proposals to strengthen the federal government’s intelligence-gathering powers are likely to be particularly fraught for a country where the legacies of Nazi and Communist control left a deep suspicion of official surveillance on citizens, and where the powers of the central government remain limited because of the history of totalitarian control. |
| But Mr. de Maizière emphasized that “we must change” in the face of new threats, by demonstrating enhanced vigilance, deploying new technologies and even, in some cases, overriding the country’s strong post-World War II concerns about privacy. | But Mr. de Maizière emphasized that “we must change” in the face of new threats, by demonstrating enhanced vigilance, deploying new technologies and even, in some cases, overriding the country’s strong post-World War II concerns about privacy. |
| Mr. de Maizière said he wanted to install sophisticated video equipment in 20 important railroad stations, and to improve the sharing of surveillance footage among law enforcement agencies, saying that the shooting rampage in Munich, at a shopping mall, showed that public spaces were potential “soft targets” for terrorists. | |
| The Munich rampage was the work of a teenager, Ali Sonboly, who had been in psychiatric treatment and was fascinated by previous mass shootings. Despite the lack of a terrorist link, the rampage engendered widespread panic. Nine people were killed, most of them teenagers. The pistol, a Glock 17, was a former theater weapon, apparently bought on the internet, that had been restored to be able to shoot live rounds. Mr. de Maizière proposed much tighter European regulations to register such weapons conversions and to crack down on internet arms sales. | The Munich rampage was the work of a teenager, Ali Sonboly, who had been in psychiatric treatment and was fascinated by previous mass shootings. Despite the lack of a terrorist link, the rampage engendered widespread panic. Nine people were killed, most of them teenagers. The pistol, a Glock 17, was a former theater weapon, apparently bought on the internet, that had been restored to be able to shoot live rounds. Mr. de Maizière proposed much tighter European regulations to register such weapons conversions and to crack down on internet arms sales. |
| Similarly, his proposals to monitor newly arrived refugees and people susceptible to radicalization seemed aimed at preventing terrorist attacks like the two perpetrated by Islamic State adherents last month. | |
| The first, on July 18, was carried out by a person identified only as a 17-year-old Afghan who was living with a foster family in Bavaria. He wounded four people on a train with an ax and a knife before attacking a woman walking her dog; he was later shot by the police. | |
| Six days later, in Germany’s first Islamist suicide attack, a 27-year-old Syrian blew himself up outside a music festival in the Bavarian town of Ansbach and wounded 15. The authorities had previously ordered him deported, and, on Thursday, Mr. de Maizière announced further measures to make it easier to deport foreign criminals. | |
| “Nobody can guarantee absolute security,” Mr. de Maizière said in announcing the new steps. “But we must do everything in our power” to try to ensure safety. | “Nobody can guarantee absolute security,” Mr. de Maizière said in announcing the new steps. “But we must do everything in our power” to try to ensure safety. |
| “One thing is sure,” he added. “Our country will not respond to the violence of the perpetrators with hate and division. We will not allow the terrorists that triumph.” | “One thing is sure,” he added. “Our country will not respond to the violence of the perpetrators with hate and division. We will not allow the terrorists that triumph.” |
| Mr. de Maizière reiterated concerns previously voiced off the record by senior intelligence officials that Germany — and Europe — does not always know enough about all the refugees who streamed into the Continent last year. | Mr. de Maizière reiterated concerns previously voiced off the record by senior intelligence officials that Germany — and Europe — does not always know enough about all the refugees who streamed into the Continent last year. |
| He noted that the recent decision to register air travelers in and out of Europe was an improvement, and he urged that all of Germany’s federal and state law enforcement and intelligence officials should have access to that information. “We see in recent months that these offices must know exactly who is coming to Europe, and who is leaving it,” he said. | He noted that the recent decision to register air travelers in and out of Europe was an improvement, and he urged that all of Germany’s federal and state law enforcement and intelligence officials should have access to that information. “We see in recent months that these offices must know exactly who is coming to Europe, and who is leaving it,” he said. |
| Other measures he proposed included following the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden in combing public social media usage by refugees and others admitted to the country. | Other measures he proposed included following the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden in combing public social media usage by refugees and others admitted to the country. |
| Without giving further details, Mr. de Maizière said a recent bomb threat at a shopping mall in Dortmund could have yielded more information if data protection officials had not curbed the use of video surveillance there. | Without giving further details, Mr. de Maizière said a recent bomb threat at a shopping mall in Dortmund could have yielded more information if data protection officials had not curbed the use of video surveillance there. |
| “Over all, we must extend and optimize our use of I.T.,” Mr. de Maizière said. | “Over all, we must extend and optimize our use of I.T.,” Mr. de Maizière said. |
| He noted that the government had approved adding 4,600 security jobs, 3,250 of them in the federal police force, which, under the structure largely set up by the Allies after World War II, has traditionally taken a back seat to the police in each of the country’s 16 states. | He noted that the government had approved adding 4,600 security jobs, 3,250 of them in the federal police force, which, under the structure largely set up by the Allies after World War II, has traditionally taken a back seat to the police in each of the country’s 16 states. |
| The government will monitor whether more police officers are needed beyond the current expansion, Mr. de Maizière said. | The government will monitor whether more police officers are needed beyond the current expansion, Mr. de Maizière said. |
| One proposal that has already prompted criticism was what Mr. de Maizière suggested might amount to a relaxation of medical confidentiality: allowing doctors to inform the authorities if they suspected patients of potentially committing violent acts. | |
| Immediate objections were voiced by leading Social Democrats, the center-left partners in the government coalition that unites them with the Christian Democrats of Chancellor Angela Merkel and Mr. de Maizière. | Immediate objections were voiced by leading Social Democrats, the center-left partners in the government coalition that unites them with the Christian Democrats of Chancellor Angela Merkel and Mr. de Maizière. |
| In Germany, doctors can face a fine or up to a year in prison for breaching patient confidentiality, though existing rules allow them to do so “to safeguard a higher-ranking legally protected interest.” | In Germany, doctors can face a fine or up to a year in prison for breaching patient confidentiality, though existing rules allow them to do so “to safeguard a higher-ranking legally protected interest.” |
| Whether the authorities succeed in increasing deportations has also been questioned. Mr. de Maizière said he envisioned declaring unwanted foreigners a threat to the public order and jailing them. | |
| “It is also time at long last to make expressing sympathy for terrorism punishable by law,” he said. | “It is also time at long last to make expressing sympathy for terrorism punishable by law,” he said. |
| In addition to the measures announced on Thursday, some members of Ms. Merkel’s conservative bloc have called for steps such as a ban on burqas. | |
| Mr. de Maizière suggested that such a ban was “constitutionally problematic,” and thus unlikely. “You can’t ban everything that you reject,” he said. | Mr. de Maizière suggested that such a ban was “constitutionally problematic,” and thus unlikely. “You can’t ban everything that you reject,” he said. |