2024-08-30 02:09:32
In November 2022, Issa al-Hassan sets off for Syria. Around 21 months later, he kills three people at a town festival in Solingen.
After the terrorist attack in Solingen, more and more details about the suspected attacker are coming to light. Research by “Zeit” has reconstructed Issa al-Hassan’s route from Syria to Solingen. In addition, further information about his contacts with various German authorities has come to light.
Issa al-Hassan says he left Syria. He was born in the east of the country in 1998. He later told the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf) this. He said he was threatened with being drafted into the Syrian army and did not want to fight against the Kurds. His main reason for fleeing was fear of punishment.
Al-Hassan reached Bulgaria via Turkey. He was taken in at a refugee shelter in the town of Busmantsi. A week later, he disappeared from there.
A group of four men reaches the German border between Austria and Bavaria – among them is al-Hassan. From Bavaria, the group travels to Bochum and reports to the initial reception center in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Issa al-Hassan is forwarded to the BAMF branch in Bielefeld.
Al-Hassan applies for asylum at the BAMF. He tells the authorities that his family comes from extremely poor economic circumstances. He wants to work in Germany to support them. He also says that he has an uncle in Germany. The BAMF cannot find this uncle in their records and the claim does not play a major role in the further proceedings.
The BAMF rejects al-Hassan’s asylum application. It has determined that the Syrian has already been registered in the EU country Bulgaria. According to Dublin rules, al-Hassan must apply for asylum there. The BAMF informs the Central Aliens Authority (ZAB) of the matter. They are responsible for sending rejected asylum seekers to other EU countries. In the meantime, al-Hassan is housed in an initial reception center in the Paderborn district of Schloss Neuhaus, where he is regularly present and does not attract attention.
Employees of the immigration authorities want to pick up al-Hassan from his accommodation in the early hours of the morning. His flight to Bulgaria is scheduled to leave the same day. But al-Hassan is not there. The authorities leave the accommodation. A little later, al-Hassan returns to his room, but the management of the Paderborn facility does not inform the ZAB.
The six-month deadline for transferring al-Hassan to Bulgaria has expired. The Dublin rules stipulate that a state may only transfer a refugee to the country of first entry for six months. From now on, Germany is responsible for al-Hassan and he will receive subsidiary protection. This is usually granted if a person faces torture, arbitrary state violence or the death penalty in their home country. The protection status grants al-Hassan a one-year residence permit in Germany – an extension is possible. He will be assigned new accommodation in Solingen.
At around half past nine in the evening, Issa al-Hassan stabbed several people at the Solingen city festival. Three people died and eight others were injured, some critically. Al-Hassan fled. The crime took place just 250 meters from his accommodation.
After hours of searching, al-Hassan turns himself in to a police patrol almost a day after the crime. Covered in blood, he says: “I am the one you are looking for” and allows himself to be arrested.