Photo Gallery An Attack Prevented
The capture, arrest and suicide of Syrian terror suspect Jaber al-Bakr in Germany has caputured the nation's attention this week. While an attack was prevented, the official handling of his case has revealed significant judiciary shortcomings in the state of Saxony.
Police in Chemnitz had staked out the building where Jaber al-Bakr was staying overnight, but when he walked out in the morning, he was able to escape and police lost his trail.
Al-Bakr was only arrested after three Syrian refugees, pictured here, took him in to provide him with shelter, only to later realize that he was the wanted terrorist. They tied him up with a power cord and delivered him to the police.
Not long after his arrest, Jaber al-Bakr committed suicide in his jail cell. A prison psychologist had determined that he wasn't at accute risk of suicide.
A private photo of Jaber al-Bakr. He was born in Saasaa, a town near Damascus, in 1994. SPIEGEL spoke to his brother by phone, who said that Jaber had radicalized in Germany, returned to Syria to fight with Islamic State, and then came back to Germany a short time ago.
In a week in which German leaders, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, have been praising the courage of the three Syrians who tied up al-Bakr and turned him into the police, Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière came under fire for not initially mentioning their contribution to the arrest.
Police found 1.5 kilograms of explosive material in the apartment al-Bakr was using in Chemnitz. It is thought that he was preparing an attack on an airport in Berlin. This image shows police standing outside of the building in Chemnitz where he was staying.
The three refugees who captured al-Bakr, pictured here, say he told them that he had been given 10,000 euros to carry out an attack. He offered his captors as much of it as they'd like if they would set him free.
