Two Germans sentenced for joining Islamist terrorists
October 27, 2017
German courts have sentenced numerous German nationals for joining foreign Islamist militants in recent years. Abshir A. and Ozkan C. have been found guilty of joining Somalia's al-Shabab and Syria's Junud al-Sham.
The court sentenced the first, Abshir A., to two years and ten months in prison for joining al-Shabab in Somalia, an Islamist terrorist group linked to al-Qaida. It sentenced the second, Ozkan C., to two years and eight months for being a member of Junud al-Sham in Syria, a Sunni militant group.
The Hessian radical
A., who was born in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, but grew up in the German state of Hesse, fought along al-Shabab militants between early 2012 and early 2014.
The 29-year-old completed four months of combat training upon arrival before being transferred to an al-Shabab base, but was forced to stop fighting due to an unidentified physical affliction. A. denied ever fighting with the militant group.
German police arrested A. after he arrived at Frankfurt airport with falsified documents in July 2016.
In 2016, five men were given prison sentences for joining al-Shabab and three other men prison sentences for joining extremist groups in Syria.
amp/kms (AFP, dpa)
Editor's note: Deutsche Welle follows the German press code, which stresses the importance of protecting the privacy of suspected criminals or victims and obliges us to refrain from revealing full names in such cases.
Mogadishu — city of extremes
Somalia's capital is both - a city of dispair and hope. Mogadishu has been ravaged by nearly 30 years of civil war but is now at the helm of rebuilding a failed state.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. Abdiwahab
In the face of terror
The truck was loaded with explosives and detonated at a busy junction in the heart of Mogadishu in the afternoon of September 14, 2017. The explosion of the bomb killed at least 276 people and injured hundreds more. It was the worst terror attack in the history of Somalia. Nearly three decades of civil war and terror have also robbed the population of its resilience to drought.
Image: Reuters/F. Omar
Fighting starvation - a Somali reality
Xamdi is a child of Somali nomads and has been in the nutrition ward of Mogadishu's Banadir Hospital since the beginning of August. Her mother feeds her with the peanut-based 'Plumpy’Nut' paste to avoid severe acute malnutrition. Xamdi is three years old and only weighs seven kilograms. Most kids in Germany in the same age group weigh twice as much. About 800,000 Somalis are facing starvation.
Image: DW/S. Petersmann
Collapsed health system - even in the capital
This boy recovers in the bed next to Xamdi. He is fighting pneumonia, one of the all too common infections caused by chronic malnutrition and overcrowded conditions in Mogadishu's refugee camps. His hands are wrapped in paper to prevent him from pulling out his feeding tube. Banadir Hospital is the biggest public clinic in the capital, but even here the collapse of the health system is visible.
Image: DW/S. Petersmann
Mogadishu - city of refugees
Mogadishu is full of makeshift homes. Many nomads and countryside dwellers are determined to stay. They have fled civil war, terror, violence and hunger. The city's population has swollen to nearly 2.5 million. At least 600,000 are officially regarded as 'internally displaced people'.
Image: DW/S. Petersmann
Camp life takes a heavy toll
The congested and unhygienic living conditions in the camps are a health hazard. Acute respiratory tract infections and diarrhea are common diseases among Mogadishu's internally displaced population. Life in the makeshift camps is a daily struggle for the next meal and the next bucket of water.
Image: DW/S. Petersmann
Life in waiting
There is not much to do inside the camps but to sit and wait. Many children don't have access to education. Most makeshift camps lack playgrounds or other recreational spaces.
Image: DW/S. Petersmann
City of ruins
There is much hardship outside the camps, too. The old part of Mogadishu is particularly pockmarked by nearly three decades of internal conflict. But there are also signs of new beginnings.
Image: DW/S. Petersmann
Selfie time
Early September 2017: These youngsters are having a good time in Mogadishu's Peace Park. All of them are students, all of them express faith in the new government of western-backed President Mohamed. One of them wants to become a civil aviation engineer. He says: "It is much safer here than five years ago." Five years ago al-Shabab ruled the capital. Today the extremists send suicide bombers.
Image: DW/S. Petersmann
No hand grenades
Right at the entrance to Peace Park, visitors are reminded to leave behind Kalashnikovs, knives, hand grenades and pistols.
Image: DW/S. Petersmann
The happening place
Liido beach draws huge crowds especially after Friday prayers. People meet to dance and play soccer. Soccer is hugely popular in Somalia. Young lovers meet to court each other. Mogadishu's Liido beach was deserted under al-Shabab's brief rule of the capital.
Image: DW/S. Petersmann
Reconstruction in full swing
The international community has started to invest in rebuilding Somalia's shattered state. Reconstruction is most visible in the capital. This new street was built with Turkish help. Turkey has also set up a huge military base in Mogadishu to train Somali soldiers.
Image: DW/S. Petersmann
Walls and fences
New villas spring up throughout town. Somalia's returning diaspora invests in Mogadishu's booming property market. So do politicians and other strongmen. Many of the new buildings are surrounded by high blast walls and concertina wire to fend off terrorists, criminals and rivals.
Image: DW/S. Petersmann
Green Zone
The airport region has become the expats' hub. Like Baghdad and Kabul, Mogadishu has a green zone. The United Nations and most of the returning diplomatic missions live and work in the vast compound which has developed around Mogadishu's International Airport. It is fenced off and guarded by African Union troops.
Image: DW/S. Petersmann
City of murals
Most of Mogadishu's shopfronts sport hand-painted murals which add some much-needed color to a city slowly rising from its ruins.
Image: DW/S. Petersmann
Online shopping
Modern billboards are also conquering the streets, advertising online shopping for Arab fashion or application details for private educational institutions.
Image: DW/S. Petersmann
Not for all
The city's new attractions are out of reach for the many displaced people and the poor. Somalia's progress and stability will depend on the state's ability to win the trust of its people. Right now nearly seven million people, which is about half the country's population, depend on humanitarian aid.
Image: DW/S. Petersmann
Youth bulge
More than half of Somalia's population is under 18. The majority of citizens were born after the overthrow of Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 — the pivotal event that caused the country to become a failed state. The capital's youth, if not engaged meaningfully, often feel disenfranchised, adding to Somalia's continued vulnerability.
