German cabinet agrees tighter deportation rules for praising terrorism

BERLIN: The German government agreed on Wednesday a draft law to make it easier to deport people for praising or promoting “terrorist crimes”, the interior ministry said.

Under the draft law, condoning or glorifying a single terrorist offence - even on social media - will be sufficient to consider a “serious interest in deportation,” the ministry said.

This will make it easier for foreigners who condone terrorist crimes to forfeit their right to remain in Germany and be deported. A criminal conviction would not be required.

“We are taking tough action against Islamist and anti-Semitic hate crime online,” said Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.

The government aims to get the draft law passed by the Bundestag lower house of parliament quickly, the ministry said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier this month announced tighter deportation rules after an Afghan man stabbed and killed a German police officer in Mannheim.

At the time, Scholz said the government was working to enable the deportation of criminals and dangerous migrants back to countries such as Afghanistan.

Such a move is controversial as Germany does not repatriate people to states where they are threatened with death.

The measure comes amid a rise in support for the anti-migrant far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and growing concern about migration and public security.