German Authorities Under Fire Over Terror Suspect's Jail Death
The German government has demanded an immediate inquiry into the death in a prison cell of a Syrian refugee suspected of planning a bomb attack.
Jaber al-Bakr killed himself in a jail in Leipzig late on October 12, reportedly with his own T-shirt.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere demanded a "rapid and comprehensive inquiry."
He said Bakr's death had made the task of investigating an alleged bomb plot on a Berlin airport much harder.
Bakr’s lawyer described the death as a judicial scandal, saying the prison was aware Bakr was a suicide risk.
Bakr was turned over to police on October 10 by three other Syrian refugees after being on the run for two days.
When police raided the 22-year-old’s flat in the eastern city of Chemnitz on October 8, they found a home-made explosive.
Bakr was granted asylum after coming to Germany in February 2015.
