The German authorities on Tuesday detained one of the country’s most active Islamic extremists, who once tried to open a school supported by a network called “Invitation to Paradise,” on four counts of supporting a terrorist organization, federal prosecutors said.
The extremist, Sven Lau, a 35-year-old German, had long been known to the authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia because of his support for violent Islam, Ralf Jäger, the interior minister for the western state, said after the arrest.
Mr. Lau is suspected of supporting the Army of Emigrants and Helpers, known by the Arabic acronym JAMWA, and the Islamic State, prosecutors said in a statement announcing the arrest. He is scheduled to appear on Tuesday before a judge, who will determine whether there is sufficient grounds to detain him pending a trial.
In the statement, prosecutors said they believed that Mr. Lau had served as a “contact for those willing to leave the country and fight,” and that he had provided support with cash and equipment, including night-vision goggles, to Germans in combat in Syria.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/16/world/europe/germany-arrests-islamic-extremist-for-aiding-terrorist-groups.html?ref=world&_r=0
