PNN – After the Olympics, France expanded security measures at Christmas markets this time.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network from Reuters, Friday’s deadly attack at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg caused a number of European countries to re-examine security measures at seasonal markets, which are usually attended by large crowds.
At the same time, the French Ministry of Interior’s extensive use of the powers introduced in the anti-terrorism law in 2017 to restrict the movement of people who are considered a serious security threat was criticized by some jurists and human rights activists before this attack.
Reuters added in its report that France put at least 547 names on the list of people who should be monitored and controlled during the Olympic Games. While the guilt of most of these people has never been proven.
Now, some lawyers and social activists worry that the wider use of such measures will become a standard and rule for other large public events.
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Terrorist attack in Germany and the escalation of political tensions in this country
Former French interior minister Gérald Darwinin also said earlier in July that the measures would only be used for people who are “very dangerous” and potentially capable of carrying out terrorist attacks.
Reuters quoted an unnamed source as saying that the control measures were effective during the Olympics and that French authorities will take the same approach to those who may target Christmas markets.
In Friday’s attack in the city of Magdeburg, the driver of a BMW drove into a Christmas market at high speed and ran over the crowd.
This deadly attack left 11 dead and more than 200 injured. The 50-year-old suspect who was arrested at the crime scene was a Saudi Arabian doctor who was known on social media as an anti-Islam activist and a supporter of the far-right Alternative for Germany party.
In 2018, a shooting at a Christmas market in Strasbourg, France, which is located near the country’s border with Germany, left at least two dead and 11 injured.
Since 2015, France has been the target of several terrorist attacks carried out by or on the orders of ISIS.