Germany tightens security, asylum policies after deadly festival stabbing

By Riham Alkousaa

BERLIN (Reuters) -The German government on Thursday announced a proposed package of tighter security and asylum measures following a deadly stabbing spree linked to Islamic State that has fuelled far-right opposition and criticism of Berlin's migration policies.

Three people were killed and eight wounded in the attack last Friday which took place during a festival marking Solingen's 650-year anniversary.

The incident has heightened political wrangling over asylum and deportation rules as the suspect was an asylum seeker from Syria whom the government had failed to deport.

The backlash comes a few days before elections in two eastern states where the anti-immigration AfD party is topping polls, putting further pressure on the centre ruling coalition to take a harder stance on the issue.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday welcomed an offer from opposition leader Friedrich Merz to discuss solutions but the government rejected some of his proposals such as declaring a national emergency or banning Syrians and Afghans from entering Germany.

The package, due to be voted on by Germany's lower and upper houses of parliament, includes stricter gun regulations and ownership rules, a ban on switchblades and on carrying knives at public events such as folk festivals and sporting events.

Federal law officers will be authorized to use Tasers and background checks for weapon permits will include new measures to prevent extremists from obtaining weapons, according to a government document outlining the measures.

Berlin will also tighten asylum and residency laws and procedures, including lowering the threshold for "severe deportation," when the deportee has committed a crime involving a weapon or dangerous tool.

Criteria for excluding individuals from asylum or refugee status will be tightened, including harsher penalties for serious crimes, including for youth offenders.

Asylum seekers will be excluded from receiving benefits in Germany if they have claims in other European countries and refugees who travel to their home countries without compelling reasons risk losing their protection status, the document read.

"If someone simply goes on a holiday trip to their home country, about which they have previously informed us that they cannot stay safely, then they must lose their protection status," Justice Minister Marco Buschmann told a press conference.

This rule would not apply to Ukrainian refugees, it said.

The package also outlines measures to combat "violent Islamism", including giving law enforcement authorities permission to use biometric data from publicly accessible online sources for facial recognition to identify suspects.

The government will strengthen the domestic intelligence agency's powers when it comes to financial investigations and continue to ban Islamist organizations.

The militant group Islamic State claimed responsibility for the Solingen attack.

The authorities had planned to deport the suspect to Bulgaria last year under European Union asylum rules, according to German media. But the deportation was unsuccessful because the man was not at his refugee accommodation when authorities tried to carry out the order, the reports said.

(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa and Holger Hansen, Editing by Miranda Murray and Angus MacSwan)