Last December, several suspects are said to have planned attacks on Cologne Cathedral and in Vienna. One of the suspects was about to be deported from Austria. He has now been discovered dead in his cell.
There were increased security measures in Cologne around the Christmas holidays and New Year's Eve. The reason: German security authorities had received information from Austria that an attack on Cologne Cathedral was planned, presumably on New Year's Eve. In Vienna, too, the authorities there suspected that attacks might have been planned on sights such as St. Stephen's Cathedral.
During the investigation, several suspects were arrested. One of the four suspects arrested in Austria was found dead in a cell. The 40-year-old was in deportation custody and, according to media reports, was to be flown out to the Russian Republic of Dagestan.
The Austrian newspaper Kronen-Zeitung was the first to report on this. A spokesman for the Vienna State Police Directorate later confirmed the man's death. It is therefore not assumed that anyone else was at fault.
Alleged connection to ISPK
After the alleged attack plans became known, two men from Tajikistan and the Turkish wife of one of the suspects were arrested in Austria in addition to the 40-year-old. Investigations have been initiated against them for membership in a terrorist organization in connection with terrorist crimes. According to the Vienna public prosecutor's office, some of these investigations are still ongoing.
The investigators assume that the accused belong to or may be close to the group “Islamic State Khorasan Province” (ISPK). It is suspected that the ISPK is also responsible for the attack on a concert hall near Moscow, which killed more than 140 people in March.
Pre-trial detention lifted due to lack of evidence
In May, however, the suspects were released from custody; the strong suspicion against them could not be maintained due to a lack of evidence.
However, the suspects were immediately taken into deportation custody. One of the accused, a man from Tajikistan who was considered the main suspect, has since been deported to his home country.
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