Germany could BAN the burka as part of security crackdown after terror attacks
GERMANY is debating whether to introduce a burka ban as part of a raft of new security measures.
German Interior minister Thomas de Maizière is set to ban the burka
Interior minister Thomas de Maizière is preparing to unveil wide-ranging legislative reforms in response to the spate of terror attacks that rocked Germany last month.
A ban on full-face veils worn by some Muslim women, similar to the "ban on face covering” in France, will feature in the package of measures called Increased Security for Germany.
UKIP's Bill Etheridge backs ban on the burka in public
German interior minister Thomas de Maizière
I don’t want to encounter a burka in this country. In that sense I am burkaphobic
Jens Spahn, a member of Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Party MP, is backing the burka ban.
He told Die Welt newspaper: "A ban on the full veil - the niqab and the burka - is overdue and would be a signal to the world.
“I don’t want to encounter a burka in this country. In that sense I am burkaphobic.”
Muslim women in Germany could be banned from wearing full-face veils
Mr de Maizière's new laws will also make it easier for the authorities to deport foreign criminals.
Those ordered to leave will be dealt with more quickly and there will be an end to the right to stay for people refusing to be deported or intentionally delaying their removal.
The financing of mosques by extremist organisations will become illegal and non-German "hate preachers" will face immediate deportation.
Muslim women in Munich
Germans who are fighting for a terrorist organisation and have at least one other nationality will have their German citizenship revoked.
Mr de Maizière's Increased Security for Germany measures will also see an additional 15,000 police officers recruited by 2020.
More CCTV cameras will be installed in public spaces and traffic junctions and police will be better armed with batons and body cams.
In his report to MPs, Mr Maizière's will say: "In face of the attack in Wuerzburg we need more police presence in trains, train stations and airports."
Chancellor Angela Merkel and her interior minister Thomas de Maizière
He calls for a new Cyber ??Defence Centre at the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) to tackle cyber crime including the illegal arms trade on the so-called darknet.
The report also urges the creation of EU Commission posts to monitor "irregular migration, smuggling, repatriation".
German media said the measures are likely to be signed off by senior CDU ministers in a "Berlin Agreement" next week.