'Sharia police' not illegal in Germany

BELGRADE - A German court on Monday ruled that a group of Islamists did not break the law in forming "sharia police" street patrols and telling people to stop drinking, gambling and listening to music, TheLocal.de reports.

The ultra-conservative Muslim group around German Salafist convert Sven Lau sparked public outrage with their vigilante patrols in the western city of Wuppertal in 2014, but prosecutors have struggled to build a case against them.

The city's district court ruled that the seven accused members of the group did not breach a ban on political uniforms when they approached people while wearing orange vests bearing the words "Sharia Police".

Judges said there could only be a violation of the law - originally aimed against street movements such as the early Nazi party - if the uniforms were "suggestively militant or intimidating", a court spokesman...