Germany’s ‘sharia police’ members to face trial

3 May 2016, 6:30 pm

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A group of German radical Islamists will face trial for forming “sharia police” street patrols that told people to stop drinking, gambling and listening to music, a court says Tuesday.

The ultra-conservative Muslim group around German Salafist convert Sven Lau sparked public anger with their vigilante patrols in 2014 in the western city of Wuppertal.

A city court last December said the group would not face charges — but a higher court has now overturned that decision, announcing that eight members of the group could face trial, without setting a date.

It sides with state prosecutors who had argued the group’s orange vests with the words “Sharia Police” on them constituted a violation of a ban on uniforms at public rallies.

— AFP