Authorities in Germany have arrested seven individuals on suspicion of being involved in financing terrorism, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office announced on Wednesday.
Federal police executed the arrest warrants granted by the investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice, detaining six men and one woman of various nationalities across several German states including Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Baden-Württemberg.
The names of the suspects have been revealed as Chahira A., Alperen K., and Anna Y., all of whom are German nationals; Siham O., a dual German and Moroccan national; Cagla K. of Turkish nationality; Kuktim B., a Kosovar national; and Harun Y., a naturalized German citizen.
According to a statement by the federal police, officers searched 19 premises in connection with the ongoing investigation, including one in the Netherlands.
The suspects are accused of belonging to an international network that has supported the terrorist activities of the Islamic State in Syria through financial donations.
According to the police report, the accused were involved in the terror network as financial intermediaries, helping to collect donations and passing on the funds to ISIS supporters. They are understood to have played “a central role within the funding network.”
In total, over €65,000 was transferred to ISIS supporters based in Syria, much of which was reportedly used to improve the situation for Islamic State members imprisoned in the Al-Hol and Roj camps located in northern Syria.
“In some cases, the funds were used to enable prisoners to escape or be smuggled out of the camps,” according to German police.
The defendants are expected to be presented to the Federal Court of Justice’s investigating judge over the course of Wednesday and Thursday, who will determine their status regarding pre-trial detention and any possible bail conditions.
The case is the latest in a long line of investigations conducted by public prosecutors across Germany, including in the cities of Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, and Stuttgart, all of which concern individuals allegedly having paid money to financing networks sympathetic to the Islamic State.
