Four Tajik Nationals Detained For Alleged Militant Recruitment In Poland

Polish authorities have detained four Tajik nationals on charges of attempting to recruit Muslim converts to carry out militant attacks.

Stanislaw Zaryn, the spokesman for the minister coordinating special forces, said on May 11 that the four men would be expelled and barred from reentering Poland and the rest of Europe’s passport-free Schengen Area.

The suspects, who were detained on May 7, were inspired by the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization but are not members of the group, Zaryn said.

The men were detained based on evidence collected by the Internal Security Agency (ABW).

The move in Poland comes as Tajik nationals suspected of ties to the IS extremist group have been targeted by security forces in Albania and Germany.

On April 15, German authorities announced the detention of five Tajik nationals suspected of forming an IS cell plotting attacks on German soil. Two individuals in the cell were alleged to have traveled to Albania with plans to carry out a contract killing.

Around two weeks later, authorities in Albania said they arrested a Tajik citizen sought by Germany for suspected membership in an IS cell.

Based on reporting by Reuters, Wiadomosci, and TVP