ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on Tuesday stated that it provided German authorities with “important information and evidence” that helped thwart a premeditated “terrorist plot” in the city of Hamburg in northern Germany.
The Council, in a statement, cited the National Center for International Judicial Cooperation as confirming that “judicial coordination and information-sharing with German counterparts played a key role in foiling a dangerous terrorist plot in the city of Hamburg, which was at an advanced stage of preparation and aimed at targeting civilian gatherings in the city.”
The Iraqi judiciary provided the information, which “contributed to supporting monitoring and investigation procedures” that enabled German law enforcement agencies to take “urgent measures to prevent the attack before it was executed,” the statement added.
Of note, the National Center for International Judicial Cooperation is a specialized department within the SJC that serves as the primary diplomatic and legal bridge between Iraq’s domestic court system and the global legal community.
The SJC statement quoted the head of the Center, Ali Hussein Jaffat, as saying the coordination was conducted “in line with the directives of Iraqi Chief Justice Faiq Zidan, who ordered the strengthening of international judicial cooperation channels and the exchange of information with friendly countries, particularly in cases related to combating terrorism and transnational organized crime.”
“The success of these efforts reflects the importance of joint judicial and security coordination in foiling terrorist plots before they occur, protecting civilian lives, and enhancing security and stability at both the national and international levels,” Jaffat added.
Interestingly, the development coincided with the announcement by German prosecutors that a 17-year-old Syrian national was arrested in Hamburg “on suspicion of planning an attack likely inspired by the Islamic State [ISIS],” Agence France-Presse reported.
The teenager is reportedly suspected of planning to kill “unbelievers” in a shopping centre, bar, or police station using explosives, Molotov cocktails, or a knife.
German prosecutors added that the individual was arrested on Thursday by a specialized Hamburg police unit based on information from German intelligence services and federal police, which they described as “crucial” to the investigation, AFP said, noting that the teenager is also suspected of “financing terrorism.”
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