"In particular, they could be detained for whole 18 months, this is already possible," the minister said in his interview with the German ARD broadcaster.
German special services keep a record of the Islamists in the country including the potentially dangerous ones, but do not normally detain them without clear reasons. Anis Amri, the Tunisian man who perpetrated the attack on the Christmas market in Berlin, had been under surveillance since February 2016, but was not detained in time to prevent the attack.
On December 19, Amri, 24, who had his application for asylum rejected in June last year, rammed a stolen truck into a busy Christmas market in central Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring over 40. Amri fled to Italy where he was shot dead by Milan police officers several days after the attack. It emerged later that he had pledged allegiance to Daesh, which is outlawed in Russia and Europe.
