BERLIN (Reuters) – German authorities have arrested seven suspected supporters of the Islamic State terrorist group as part of an investigation into terrorist financing, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
At the same time, authorities conducted 19 raids in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, as well as in one property in the Netherlands, the federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
The individuals arrested are suspected of belonging to an international network that solicited financial donations for IS in Syria through platforms including Telegram and subsequently transferred them to the group or its intermediaries.
At least 65,000 euros ($71,552.00) were transferred in this manner, prosecutors said, adding that the money was used to support IS members imprisoned in Syria, in some cases allowing them to escape from prison camps.
The seven suspects are to appear on Wednesday and Thursday before a magistrate who will decide whether they are to remain in pre-trial detention.
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(Writing by Linda Pasquini and Friederike Heine, Editing by Miranda Murray)