German authorities say they were unaware that an Afghan migrant accused of the recent rape and murder of a female medical student in Germany had been convicted of attempted murder in Greece after violating parole there.
The news added a disturbing twist to a case that has rattled Germany and is causing an uproar in Greece over the negligence of the authorities and the Jutsice Ministry. Both Greek Justice Minister Nikos Paraskevopoulos and Alternate Minister of Public Order Nikos Toskas have come under intense criticism in Greece for their negligent handling of the case. During an acrimonious exchange in Greek parliament he defended his decision to release the suspect on a short term leave4 from prison, claiming it was part of the law. “There is a cost, there are inmates who get a leave from prison and commit crimes”, he said, responding to criticism by opposition MPs in parliament. The incident raises concerns about European officials’ ability to enforce laws within the 26 countries that allow for free travel across their borders. “The course of events is very aggravating,” Thomas de Maizière, Germany’s interior minister, said of the discovery that the suspect had been convicted of a violent crime in Greece. Mr. de Maizière said Germany would take up the issue with the Greek government.
The suspect, whose identity and age have not been made public, was living with a foster family in Freiburg, a university city in southwestern Germany, at the time of his Dec. 3 arrest on suspicion of the rape and murder of the 19-year-old medical student, Maria Ladenburger, whose body was found in the Dreisam River in Freiburg on Oct. 17. He has been publicly identified as Hussein K. The surname that he provided has not been made public, in keeping with German laws protecting the privacy of suspects. Seven weeks later, the police said, the suspect was identified through DNA evidence from a strand of hair found near the crime scene. The man was released on parole in February 2015 on good behavior. When he violated parole, the Greek authorities only issued a national warrant for his arrest, so when he arrived in Germany, his fingerprints failed to turn up on the databases European security officials use to share information, Mr. de Maizière said.

Maria Ladenburger was raped and killed by the Afghan

Spyridoula-Greek girl pushed off cliff by Afghan migrant