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| Germany's security chief demands answers after terror suspect's jail death | Germany's security chief demands answers after terror suspect's jail death |
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| German officials have demanded answers after a 22-year-old Syrian man suspected of planning an Islamic extremist bombing attack was able to take his own life in his jail cell despite indications he might be a suicide risk. | German officials have demanded answers after a 22-year-old Syrian man suspected of planning an Islamic extremist bombing attack was able to take his own life in his jail cell despite indications he might be a suicide risk. |
| Germany’s top security official, the interior minister, Thomas de Maiziere, said Jaber Albakr’s death would make the investigation into whether he had accomplices in the thwarted plot far more difficult. | Germany’s top security official, the interior minister, Thomas de Maiziere, said Jaber Albakr’s death would make the investigation into whether he had accomplices in the thwarted plot far more difficult. |
| “What happened last night demands a very quick and comprehensive explanation,” he said on ZDF public television. | “What happened last night demands a very quick and comprehensive explanation,” he said on ZDF public television. |
| Albakr’s lawyer, Alexander Huebner, told Focus magazine that the Leipzig prison was aware his client was a suicide risk. | |
| “I’m unbelievably shocked and absolutely speechless that something like this could have happened,” he said. Huebner told Bild newspaper his client had apparently made an earlier attempt to kill himself in jail. | |
| Wolfgang Bosbach, a senior member of chancellor Angela Merkel’s party and a security expert, told n-tv that, given his behaviour, Albakr should have been under constant observation. “The suicide danger was known. It was not just an assumption,” Bosbach said. | |
| Albakr killed himself in his cell on Wednesday evening. | Albakr killed himself in his cell on Wednesday evening. |
| Saxony state authorities were already facing criticism after Albakr eluded police as they prepared to raid an apartment where he had been staying in the city of Chemnitz on Saturday. Inside the apartment police found highly volatile explosives and a homemade bomb vest. | Saxony state authorities were already facing criticism after Albakr eluded police as they prepared to raid an apartment where he had been staying in the city of Chemnitz on Saturday. Inside the apartment police found highly volatile explosives and a homemade bomb vest. |
| Albakr, who had been granted asylum after coming to Germany last year, was arrested on Monday in Leipzig after three fellow Syrians tied him up and alerted police. He had been granted asylum after coming to Germany last year, and had been under surveillance by German domestic intelligence since last month. | Albakr, who had been granted asylum after coming to Germany last year, was arrested on Monday in Leipzig after three fellow Syrians tied him up and alerted police. He had been granted asylum after coming to Germany last year, and had been under surveillance by German domestic intelligence since last month. |
| Earlier on Wednesday, De Maiziere said Albakr had undergone a security check last year that did not turn up anything suspicious. “There was a check against security authorities’ data in 2015, but without any hits,” he said. “It’s not clear when he was radicalised.” | |
| German authorities have said they believe Albakr had links to the Islamic State militant group and was thought to be planning to attack a Berlin airport, possibly as soon as this week. | German authorities have said they believe Albakr had links to the Islamic State militant group and was thought to be planning to attack a Berlin airport, possibly as soon as this week. |
| The three Syrians who captured the suspect had been granted asylum, and their “behaviour deserves praise and recognition”, De Maiziere said. | The three Syrians who captured the suspect had been granted asylum, and their “behaviour deserves praise and recognition”, De Maiziere said. |
| Authorities have another suspect alleged to have been involved in the plot in custody, identified only as Khalil A in keeping with German privacy laws. | Authorities have another suspect alleged to have been involved in the plot in custody, identified only as Khalil A in keeping with German privacy laws. |
| The 33-year-old Syrian was the tenant of the Chemnitz apartment where police found the hidden explosives and was arrested over the weekend as a co-conspirator. | The 33-year-old Syrian was the tenant of the Chemnitz apartment where police found the hidden explosives and was arrested over the weekend as a co-conspirator. |
| • In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Hotlines in other countries can be found here. |