A convicted member of al-Qaeda has been living in Germany for six years as he cannot be deported and he says he wants to stay in the country because he has met a girl there.
37-year-old Mazen Salah Mohammed was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison for terrorism offences and planning an attempted murder on 15th July 2008 in Germany.
According to the United Nations Security Council, “Mohammed, along with others, planned an assassination attempt against former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi during his visit to Berlin on 2 and 3 December 2004.”
After his release, Mohammed has not been deported and has been living near Passau in the south-eastern German state of Bavaria for six years as a law is preventing his deportation.
He arrived in Germany on 14th June 2001 and applied for asylum five days later on the grounds of being persecuted after renouncing an extremist group.
Although his request was denied, he was given deportation protection.
On 22d October 2004, the deportation protection was revoked because, according to authorities, there were no longer obstacles for deportation.
Mohammed was then arrested on 3rd December 2004 in his apartment on suspicion of being a member of the al-Qaeda group in northern Iraq Ansal al-Islam.
An investigation showed he had been sent to Germany along with two other terrorists to assassinate Allawi.
State security personnel prevented the assassination attempt by having wiretapped the terrorists.
The UN report stated that he additionally “participated in at least six fundraising activities and money transfers” between December 2003 and November 2004, meant for Ansar al-Islam.
Now, after his release from prison, Mohammed said he still resides in Germany because there is still a deportation ban.
According to local media, the reason for the ban is the risk of him facing death penalty in Iraq for the attempted assassination on Allawi.
Mohammed told local media he did not want to leave Germany.
He said: “Three years ago, I met my girlfriend. She is my great love. We want to marry, but the necessary documents are still missing.”
