Bavaria moots unlimited preventive custody for terror suspects

Deutsche Welle ^ | 02.28.2017 | Ben Knight

[Olog-hai]

The conservative government in Bavaria is preparing a radical alteration to the state’s preventive custody laws that would allow judges to set their own limits on the incarceration of “dangerous persons,” rather than stick to the 14 days that German law currently allows.

The bill, which has already been approved by the Bavarian cabinet, is part of a new “anti-terror” package designed to improve surveillance of people security forces deem “Gefährder” (a term used by the intelligence agencies literally meaning “endangerer”). […]

The measures include extending police powers to search and keep tabs on potential suspects.

But the proposal to lift the limit on preventive custody has caught the most attention. Different German states have different laws on preventive custody, with states like Berlin limiting it to one or two days. Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg have the highest maximum period at 14 days.

In its bill, the Bavarian government argues that Germany’s constitution — the Basic Law — does not oblige states to set upper limits on preventive custody. …

[pepsionice]

It’ll get quickly dragged into some German court and thrown out. But it shows how the 16 states are progressing beyond the federal law system of Berlin. The Bundestag is unable to act because of the various factions trying to protect their turf.