North Rhine-Westphalia: attacks on Jewish buildings: criticism of investigators

Dortmund/Essen/Bochum (dpa/lnw) - After the arrest of a man for instigating an arson attack on a synagogue in Dortmund, which was ultimately unsuccessful, it is still unclear whether he has anything to do with two other attacks on Jewish institutions.

North Rhine-Westphalia: attacks on Jewish buildings: criticism of investigators

Dortmund/Essen/Bochum (dpa/lnw) - After the arrest of a man for instigating an arson attack on a synagogue in Dortmund, which was ultimately unsuccessful, it is still unclear whether he has anything to do with two other attacks on Jewish institutions. The defender of the 35-year-old meanwhile criticized the investigators. "The arrest warrant is relatively thin. It is based on a witness," said Dortmund lawyer Jörg Tigges on Saturday. In addition, he and his client only found out about further investigations against him from the press.

The man, who has German and Iranian citizenship, has been in custody since November 19. The arrest warrant relates to the allegation that a man had instigated an arson attack on a synagogue in Dortmund. It did not come to that, the witness contacted the police. According to the public prosecutor's office in Düsseldorf, the 35-year-old is also suspected of having thrown a Molotov cocktail at a school in Bochum that borders a synagogue on the evening of November 17.

Tigges criticized on Saturday that he was completely unaware of this allegation until the press release published by the Attorney General's Office on Friday. Even after that, he or his client were not officially notified. From a constitutional point of view, he considers this approach to be difficult. "Obviously everyone here knows everything - except for the accused and his defense attorney," he criticized. The lawyer did not comment on the allegations, saying he had not yet had access to the files.

Also on the evening of November 17, shots were fired at the rabbi's house at the old synagogue in Essen. According to the Attorney General, there could be a connection between the crimes, but this has not been proven. A spokesman for the investigative authority said on Saturday that there were no new findings.