Police in Brandenburg took a 15-year-old from Zossen into custody on Christmas Day. Security services believe he was planning an attack on a church in Berlin over the Christmas period. The young man was released from police custody due to a lack of evidence.
The 15-year-old of Iraqi origin had apparently been in contact with radicalised Islamists via social media. According to ARD terrorism expert Michael Götschenberg, the young man had been in contact via Telegram with people suspected of being members of the Islamic State, but had not previously been known to German security authorities as an extremist.
Following a court decision, the young man was released on 1 January. The public prosecutor's office did not find sufficient evidence to keep the young man in custody.