The German courts finally acted. It found four Arab terrorists linked to al Qaeda guilty of planning attacks against Jewish sites in Germany. They were sentenced for prison terms ranging from five to eight years. This trial should not have happened, the judge complained:

Presiding judge Ottmar Breidling said the defendants and witnesses from their circle of friends had been living in Germany under false names, proclaiming fake stories of persecution. Abu-D. paid people smugglers to get into Germany in 1995.

Some of the circle were convicted drug dealers, yet they had improperly obtained residence permits. Four witnesses had somehow obtained German citizenship, yet could not speak German.

"If immigration laws had been correctly applied, this trial would never have taken place," said the judge, calling for a crackdown.

If they had been duly expelled, Germany would have been spared danger and saved the expense of a costly, 20-month, high-security trial as well as the welfare benefits paid out to the bogus refugees, he said

Illegal immigration is quickly emerging as a major security concern. As always, the price for the authorities failure to deal more harshly with the criminals will hurt the innocents first and foremost.