THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
Police and prosecutors suspect an Iranian national of preparing an “Islamist-motivated attack” using ricin and cyanide. It has not yet been decided whether he will be brought before a magistrate.
A 32-year-old man has been taken into police custody in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia for allegedly preparing an “Islamist-motivated attack,” police and prosecutors said in a joint statement on Sunday.
The man, identified as an Iranian, was “suspected of having prepared a serious act of violence that endangers the state by procuring cyanide and ricin to commit an Islamist-motivated attack.”
Ricin is a highly toxic biological weapon.
Residence searched for ‘toxic substances’
According to a press release issued by Munster police, Recklinghausen police and the Dusseldorf prosecutor’s office, a residence in the town of Castrop-Rauxel in the Ruhr region was searched for “toxic substances.”
An area around the suspect’s residence was cordoned off as police and rescue workers were deployed to the site. The Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) news agency reported that numerous emergency workers wore protective suits as they were deployed at the site.
Investigators said, “The search serves to find corresponding toxins and other evidence.”
Investigators said that another person was arrested during the operation and taken into custody.
It has not yet been decided whether the 32-year-old will be brought before a magistrate.
sdi/kb (dpa, AFP)
© DW
