Latest news with #Rechtsextremismus
Times
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Times
German police criticised for treatment of AfD-supporting teenager
German police have been rebuked by a judge for 'disproportionately' hauling a teenage girl out of a classroom and interrogating her over several right-wing memes and symbols she had posted on the internet. The 17-year-old is a vocal supporter of the hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has portrayed her as a martyr to the country's restrictions on free speech. She became a national cause célèbre in February last year after the headmaster of her school in Ribnitz-Damgarten, a town between Rostock and Stralsund on the Baltic coast, received an anonymous email alleging that she was publishing extremist videos on TikTok, the social media platform. • AfD designated as 'right-wing extremist' by German intelligence The incident is widely known in Germany as the 'Smurf case' because the girl had written that 'the Smurfs are blue and so is east Germany', a reference to the AfD's party colours and its strong performance in polls ahead of regional elections. However, it appears that the investigation related to eight other posts, including one where she had used the nativist slogan 'No 'Yallah Yallah' — in Germany we speak German', which derides migrants' use of Arabic in the county. In another, she posted 'Homeland, liberty, tradition, last stop for multiculturalism', words associated with the right-wing extremist Identitarian movement. She also released a video of herself surrounded by nationalist symbols such as runes and wearing a jacket that bore the initials 'HH', the logo of the manufacturer Helly Hansen but which could also have been interpreted as an abbreviation of 'Heil Hitler'. The headmaster informed local police and three armed officers entered the school while the girl, who was 16 at the time, was in the middle of a class. The head took her out of the classroom and the officers questioned her in his office. The teenager was notified that she was being treated as a potential danger to the German state and might be breaking the law by using banned political symbols or publishing other kinds of extremist content. Ultimately, the schoolgirl was not charged. Police said there had been insufficient grounds to suspect her of extremism in the first place. The AfD turned the case into an emblem of the supposed persecution of right-wing views by the authorities. Alice Weidel, the party's co-leader and candidate for the chancellorship, called it an 'intolerable transgression'. The incident also drew international attention, the tech billionaire Elon Musk among those expressing surprise at her arrest. The girl's family then sued the police force and the interior ministry of the local Mecklenburg-West Pomerania region. Their lawyer, Ralf Stark, compared the girl's treatment to the socialist police state of the former East Germany. On Tuesday, the administrative court in Greifswald ruled that the police had broken the law because their approach had been out of proportion to the seriousness of the allegations against the girl. 'There would have been gentler measures than immediately taking the schoolgirl out of class and taking her to the school office alongside police officers in full view of the rest of the school,' the court said. • What is AfD? The reasons behind rise of the hard right in Germany A separate lawsuit brought by the family against the head teacher and the education ministry has yet to begin. The girl's mother told Junge Freiheit, a newspaper aligned with the AfD: 'My daughter should be rehabilitated. It's important that my daughter receives justice here because she committed no crime, and both the interior and education ministries have always defended the behaviour of the police and the head teacher.'
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
German police arrest teenage neo-Nazis over alleged attacks on migrants
German police have staged early morning raids against an alleged far-right 'terrorist' cell on suspicion of attacks against asylum seekers and political enemies, arresting five teenage suspects, federal prosecutors have said. The operation on Wednesday targeting a neo-Nazi group calling itself 'Last Defence Wave' marked the latest high-profile action against groups Germany says are working to destabilise its democratic order. Four of those arrested – named only as Benjamin H, Ben-Maxim H, Lenny M and Jason R, in line with German privacy rules – are suspected of membership of a 'domestic terror organisation'. The fifth, Jerome M, is accused of supporting the group. Two of the suspects are accused of attempted murder and aggravated arson. All five are German citizens between the ages of 14 and 18. Prosecutors said in a statement they were also investigating three other people, aged 18 to 21, who are already in custody in connection with the case. The arrests took place in three states and were accompanied by searches at 13 properties in five regions. Authorities believe the Last Defence Wave group began in April 2024 at the latest. The justice minister, Stefanie Hubig, said what was 'particularly shocking is that all those arrested today are said to have been minors when the terrorist group was founded'. 'This is an alarm signal and it shows that rightwing extremist terrorism knows no age,' she said in a statement. Prosecutors said the group's members 'see themselves as the last line of defence of the 'German nation''. Their intent is 'to bring about the collapse of the democratic system in the Federal Republic of Germany through acts of violence, primarily against migrants and political opponents'. Two of the suspects allegedly set fire to a cultural centre in the eastern town Altdöbern in October, prosecutors said, adding that several people living at the property at the time were lucky to escape. Ben-Maxim H is believed to have written a speech delivered in a video by Lenny M before the arson attack, encouraging other group members to commit similar acts. The public broadcaster ARD said online chats linked to the group and including about 200 people glorified the Nazi regime and propagated large scale, politically motivated attacks. In January, another two suspects allegedly smashed a window at a home for asylum-seekers in Schmölln, eastern Germany and tried unsuccessfully to start a blaze by setting off fireworks inside, prosecutors said. They are believed to have sprayed the group's initials on a wall, swastikas and slogans such as 'foreigners out', 'Germany for the Germans' and 'Nazi territory' while flashing the straight-armed Hitler salute. The same month, three suspects allegedly planned an arson attack on a shelter for asylum-seekers in the eastern town of Senftenberg and acquired explosive material from the Czech Republic. But the alleged plot was foiled because of the earlier arrests of two members, reportedly using the findings of an undercover television reporter. News magazine Der Spiegel said Last Defence Wave actively recruited new members using Instagram, TikTok, Telegram and WhatsApp, setting a minimum age of 15. Investigators found more than 70 chat groups across the country with what they say are links to the group. Der Spiegel quoted experts as saying the surge in youth interest in violent neo-Nazi groups recalled the notorious 'baseball-bat years' after national reunification in 1990 when a wave of racist, homophobic and anti-leftist attacks rocked Germany. In a separate case last week, authorities outlawed a cult-like far-right group called 'Kingdom of Germany' as a threat to the country's democratic order and arrested four of its alleged organisers including the ringleader Peter Fitzek, the self-proclaimed Peter I. The Federal Criminal Police Office said in an annual report released on Tuesday that the number of violent crimes with a rightwing motive in Germany was up more than 17% last year to 1,488. That was part of an overall 15% increase in violent politically motivated offences to 4,107.
The Guardian
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
German police arrest teenage neo-Nazis for alleged attacks on migrants
German police have staged early morning raids against an alleged far-right 'terrorist' cell on suspicion of attacks against asylum seekers and political enemies, arresting five teenage suspects, federal prosecutors said. The operation on Wednesday targeting a neo-Nazi group calling itself 'Last Defence Wave' marked the latest high-profile action against groups Germany says are working to destabilise its democratic order. Four of those arrested – named only as Benjamin H, Ben-Maxim H, Lenny M and Jason R, in line with German privacy rules – are suspected of membership of a 'domestic terror organisation'. The fifth, Jerome M, is accused of supporting the group. Two of the suspects are accused of attempted murder and aggravated arson. All five are German citizens between the ages of 14 and 18. Prosecutors said in a statement they were also investigating three other people, aged 18 to 21, who are already in custody in connection with the case. The arrests took place in three states and were accompanied by searches at 13 properties in five regions. Authorities believe the Last Defence Wave group began in April 2024 at the latest. The justice minister, Stefanie Hubig, said what was 'particularly shocking is that all those arrested today are said to have been minors when the terrorist group was founded'. 'This is an alarm signal and it shows that rightwing extremist terrorism knows no age,' she said in a statement. Prosecutors said the group's members 'see themselves as the last line of defence of the 'German nation''. Their intent is 'to bring about the collapse of the democratic system in the Federal Republic of Germany through acts of violence, primarily against migrants and political opponents'. Two of the suspects allegedly set fire to a cultural centre in the eastern town Altdöbern in October, prosecutors said, adding that several people living at the property at the time were lucky to escape. Ben-Maxim H is believed to have written a speech delivered in a video by Lenny M before the arson attack, encouraging other group members to commit similar acts. The public broadcaster ARD said online chats linked to the group and including about 200 people glorified the Nazi regime and propagated large scale, politically motivated attacks. In January, another two suspects allegedly smashed a window at a home for asylum-seekers in Schmölln, eastern Germany and tried unsuccessfully to start a blaze by setting off fireworks inside, prosecutors said. They are believed to have sprayed the group's initials on a wall, swastikas and slogans such as 'foreigners out', 'Germany for the Germans' and 'Nazi territory' while flashing the straight-armed Hitler salute. The same month, three suspects allegedly planned an arson attack on a shelter for asylum-seekers in the eastern town of Senftenberg and acquired explosive material from the Czech Republic. But the alleged plot was foiled because of the earlier arrests of two members, reportedly using the findings of an undercover television reporter. News magazine Der Spiegel said Last Defence Wave actively recruited new members using Instagram, TikTok, Telegram and WhatsApp, setting a minimum age of 15. Investigators found more than 70 chat groups across the country with what they say are links to the group. Der Spiegel quoted experts as saying the surge in youth interest in violent neo-Nazi groups recalled the notorious 'baseball-bat years' after national reunification in 1990 when a wave of racist, homophobic and anti-leftist attacks rocked Germany. In a separate case last week, authorities outlawed a cult-like far-right group called 'Kingdom of Germany' as a threat to the country's democratic order and arrested four of its alleged organisers including the ringleader Peter Fitzek, the self-proclaimed Peter I. The Federal Criminal Police Office said in an annual report released on Tuesday that the number of violent crimes with a rightwing motive in Germany was up more than 17% last year to 1,488. That was part of an overall 15% increase in violent politically motivated offences to 4,107.
Bloomberg
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Germany Makes Arrests of Suspected Right-Wing Terrorist Cell
Germany arrested five people accused of participating in a right-wing terror cell that sought to attack migrants and undermine the country's democratic system. The individuals — all juveniles — are suspected of being part of an extremist group that called itself Letzte Verteidigungswelle (Last Defensive Wave), the Federal Prosecutors Office said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Independent
21-05-2025
- The Independent
Germany says it broke up a far-right group that planned attacks. 5 teens have been arrested
German police on Wednesday arrested five teenagers accused of involvement with a right-wing extremist group calling itself 'Last Defense Wave' that allegedly aimed to destabilize the country's democratic system by carrying out attacks on migrants and political opponents. The early-morning arrests in various parts of Germany were accompanied by searches at 13 properties, federal prosecutors said in a statement. Four of those arrested — identified only as Benjamin H., Ben-Maxim H., Lenny M. and Jason R., in line with German privacy rules — are suspected of membership in a domestic terror organization. The fifth, Jerome M., is accused of supporting the group. Two of the arrested also are accused of attempted murder and aggravated arson. All are between the ages of 14 and 18. Prosecutors said they are also investigating three other people, ages 18 to 21, who are already in custody. All the suspects are German citizens. According to the prosecutors, the group was formed in mid-April 2024 or earlier. They said that its members saw themselves as the last resort to defend the 'German nation' and aimed to bring about the collapse of Germany's democratic order, with attacks on homes for asylum-seekers and on facilities associated with the left-wing political spectrum. Two of the suspects set a fire at a cultural center in Altdöbern in eastern Germany in October, prosecutors said, adding that several people living in the building at the time escaped injury only by chance. In January, another two suspects allegedly broke a window at a home for asylum-seekers in Schmölln and tried unsuccessfully to start a blaze by setting off fireworks. They daubed the group's initials and slogans such as 'Foreigners out,' 'Germany for the Germans' and ' Nazi area," as well as swastikas, prosecutors said. Also in January, three suspects allegedly planned an arson attack on a home for asylum-seekers in Senftenberg, but it never came about because of the earlier arrests of two of the men. Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig said it was 'particularly shocking' that all of those arrested Wednesday were minors at the time the group was allegedly founded. 'This is an alarm signal and it shows that right-wing extremist terrorism knows no age,' Hubig said in a statement. In a separate case a week ago, German authorities banned a far-right group called 'Kingdom of Germany' as a threat to the country's democratic order and arrested four of its alleged leaders. In an annual report released Tuesday, the Federal Criminal Police Office said that the number of violent crimes with a right-wing motivation was up 17.2% last year to 1,488. That was part of an overall increase in violent politically motivated offenses to 4,107, an increase of 15.3%.
