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CRIME

Libya wants to buy German ankle monitors

The interim Libyan government is interested in buying German electronic monitoring devices for criminals, it was reported Monday.

Libya wants to buy German ankle monitors
Photo: DPA

According to the Bild newspaper, the German Foreign Ministry received an official application for the high-tech ankle shackles from the new Libyan leadership several weeks ago.

The Foreign Ministry reportedly considers the application a chance to engage in trade with Libya after the toppling of dictator Muammar Qaddafi.

But the ministry refused to answer any direct questions on the application.

“The German government is in continual contact with the transitional council and the interim government on how best to support the transition to democracy, economic recovery, the treatment of the injured, and the rebuilding of functioning state institutions,” a ministry spokeswoman told the paper.

Electronic ankle monitors – wristwatch-sized transmitters fitted to a convicted criminal’s ankle – are considered a viable alternative to prison sentences or a useful device during parole periods.

The tags transmit signals 24 hours a day to a data box in the criminal’s home, from where data is transmitted to a central control centre. Police officers in the centre can then see whether the criminal is staying in a designated area or not. An alarm is tripped if anyone attempts to tamper with the monitors or leave the designated area.

Ankle monitors have been in use in the United States since 2007 and in some German states since earlier this year.

The Local/bk

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BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

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