Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

CRIME

Southern cities revoke driving privileges from brawling youths

Two German cities say they have found a new deterrent to increasing youth violence – confiscating driver’s licences, daily Süddeutsche Zeitung reported this week.

Published: 14 October 2009 14:02 CEST

Southern cities revoke driving privileges from brawling youths

Photo: DPA

Heilbronn and Karlsruhe, both in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, have adopted the tactic to discourage drunken brawling among their younger citizens.

The idea began in Karlsruhe, which has issued around 50 such warnings since November 2008.

“We were desperately searching for an instrument to influence the young people. We bring them to reflect on things,” Björn Weiße, head of the Karlsruhe Public Order Office told the paper, adding that he is now fielding calls from communities around Germany that want emulate the measures.

Heilbronn, just 75 kilometres away, instituted the programme on October 1. Recently five young men there received the first warnings via mail for getting drunk at a wine festival and brutally beating two adults – not long after a man was killed at a Munich S-Bahn stop by two teens.

“Should they not change their behaviour and offend again, this has consequences,” Heilbronn’s Mayor Harry Mergel said. Those caught drinking and fighting are first issued a “yellow card.” A second offence gets them a red card – in the style of sanctioning fouls in football. The offender then loses their driver’s licence or must undergo a psychological examination to determine whether they are fit to drive in order to acquire a licence.

Officials say the key is that offences do not necessarily have any connection to driving.

“The licence is a step towards independence, therefore many are prepared to return to being sensible,” Mengel told the paper. “This is much more effective than detention community service.”

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Germany, Czech Republic accuse Russia of cyberattacks

The accusations come at a time of strained relations between Moscow and the West following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the European Union’s support for Kyiv.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said a newly concluded government investigation found that a cyberattack targeting members of the Social Democratic Party had been carried out by a group known as APT28.

APT28 “is steered by the military intelligence service of Russia”, Baerbock told reporters during a visit to Australia.

“In other words, it was a state-sponsored Russian cyberattack on Germany and this is absolutely intolerable and unacceptable and will have consequences.”

APT28, also known as Fancy Bear, has been accused of dozens of cyberattacks in countries around the world. Russia denies being behind such actions.

The hacking attack on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SPD party was made public last year. Hackers exploited a previously unknown vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook to compromise e-mail accounts, according to Berlin.

Berlin on Friday summoned the acting charge d’affaires of the Russian embassy over the incident.

The Russian embassy in Germany said its envoy “categorically rejected the accusations that Russian state structures were involved in the given incident… as unsubstantiated and groundless”.

Arms, aerospace targeted: Berlin

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the cyber campaign was orchestrated by Russia’s military intelligence service GRU and began in 2022. It also targeted German companies in the armaments and aerospace sectors, she said.

Such cyberattacks are “a threat to our democracy, national security and our free societies”, she told a joint news conference in Prague with her Czech counterpart Vit Rakusan.

“We are calling on Russia again to stop these activities,” Faeser added.

Czech government officials said some of its state institutions had also been the target of cyberattacks blamed on APT28, again by exploiting a weakness in Microsoft Outlook in 2023.

Czech Interior Minister Rakusan said his country’s infrastructure had recently experienced “higher dozens” of such attacks.

“The Czech Republic is a target. In the long term, it has been perceived by the Russian Federation as an enemy state,” he told reporters.

EU, NATO condemnation

The German and Czech findings triggered strong condemnation from the European Union.

“The malicious cyber campaign shows Russia’s continuous pattern of irresponsible behaviour in cyberspace, by targeting democratic institutions, government entities and critical infrastructure providers across the European Union and beyond,” EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said.

The EU would “make use of the full spectrum of measures to prevent, deter and respond to Russia’s malicious behaviour in cyberspace”, he added.

State institutions, agencies and entities in other member states including in Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia and Sweden had been targeted by APT28 in the past, the statement added.

The latest accusations come a day after NATO expressed “deep concern” over Russia’s “hybrid actions” including disinformation, sabotage and cyber interference.

The row also comes as millions of Europeans prepare to go to the polls for the European Parliament elections in June, and concerns about foreign meddling are running high.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told AFP that “pointing a finger publicly at a specific attacker is an important tool to protect national interests”.

One of the most high-profile incidents so far blamed on Fancy Bear was a cyberattack in 2015 that paralysed the computer network of the German lower house of parliament, the Bundestag. It forced the entire institution offline for days while it was fixed.

In 2020, the EU imposed sanctions on individuals and entities linked to the APT28 group over the incident.

Url copied to clipboard!