After the alleged auto-attack in Munich, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is pressing for a hard approach against the driver.
It must be clear that “the justice system will take all its possibilities to a hard course of action against this perpetrator” he said at a campaign event in Fürth on Thursday. All options must be used, he emphasized. “It is very important for me to say that whoever commits crimes in Germany will not only be harshly punished and sent to prison, but also must reckon with the possibility of not being able to continue their stay in Germany” Scholz said.
The alleged perpetrator in Munich is a 24-year-old Afghan, who came to Germany as an asylum seeker. According to media reports, he was known to the police. He was arrested at the scene, during which a shot was fired at the suspect’s vehicle by the police.
Scholz said that his statement on deportations also applies to countries “where it is very difficult to return someone.” He referred to the fact that his government organized a deportation flight to Afghanistan in the summer. “We have already organized such a flight with criminals. And although it is very complicated, because it does not go directly, we are working on making this happen in more cases and not just once, but continuously” he announced.
“This must be the principle and so it will be for this perpetrator, when everything is finally decided by the courts.” This perpetrator cannot count on “any leniency.” “He must be punished and then he must leave the country” the Chancellor said.
The Afghan had driven a small car into a crowd in the heart of Munich’s inner city – apparently intentionally – in the morning. At least 28 people, some of them seriously injured, were among the group of people, which was a part of a strike march by the Verdi union, according to the police.