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German police swoop on far-right ‘terrorist’ ring

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German police on Monday arrested six men on suspicion of belonging to a far-right "terrorist" group that attacked foreigners in the city of Chemnitz.

The German nationals, aged 20 to 31, were taken into custody for allegedly forming a group called "Revolution Chemnitz" with the aim of subverting the democratic state.

"To this end, they intended to launch violent and armed attacks against foreigners and people who have different political views," said federal prosecutors in a statement.

Their targets included representatives of different political parties as well as members of the economic establishment, the prosecutors said.

They added that the group appeared to have been planning an assault on Germany's Unity Day, which falls on Wednesday.

"They wanted to change the country," investigators told Munich-based daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ).

Citing intercepted chats and telephone calls, SZ reported that the men "wanted to achieve more than the National Socialist Underground" or NSU, a neo-Nazi extremist group uncovered in 2011 that murdered 10 people and planted three bombs.

As well as politicians, the group wanted to attack journalists, who they referred to as "the media dictatorship and its slaves," the newspaper added.

- Far-right stronghold -

The arrests once again cast an uncomfortable spotlight on extremism in Saxony state, where Chemnitz is located and which is a stronghold of the far-right party AfD.

A convey of police cars with suspected right-wing terrorists arrive at court in Karlsruhe  southwest...
A convey of police cars with suspected right-wing terrorists arrive at court in Karlsruhe, southwestern Germany, on October 1, 2018
Christoph Schmidt, dpa/AFP

Investigators are still trying to determine if the suspects were involved in the wave of xenophobic marches that swept Chemnitz at the end of August following a fatal stabbing, allegedly by an asylum seeker.

But prosecutors said that on September 14 five of the suspects "armed with glass bottles, weighted knuckle gloves, and an electroshock appliance, attacked and hurt several foreign residents" in Chemnitz.

"Investigations show that the assault was a test-run for an event that one of the accused planned for October 3, 2018," said prosecutors.

Police are still investigating what exactly was being plotted.

More than 100 police officers were deployed to search apartments and other premises.

"With the arrests and raids, we are sending a clear signal that we are identifying and breaking up such right-wing terrorist structures early," said Saxony interior minister Roland Woeller.

Germany's Justice Minister Katarina Barley highlighted the suspects' links to the football hooligan, skinhead and neo-Nazi scenes and warned that "the network under investigation does not stand in isolation."

At least one of the men, Tom W., was convicted 10 years ago over his role as a leader of a violent 50-strong far-right group known as "Sturm 34" that was ultimately banned, SZ reported.

- Deep resentment -

Saxony, a former communist state, has gained notoriety as the home base of several extremist groups.

Right-wing protesters have staged marches in the eastern German city of Chemnitz
Right-wing protesters have staged marches in the eastern German city of Chemnitz
-, DPA/AFP/File

Eight members of a far-right outfit called the Freital group were jailed in March on terrorism and attempted murder charges for a series of explosions targeting refugees and anti-fascist activists.

Members of the NSU, responsible for several racist killings, also evaded police for years in Chemnitz and another Saxony town, Zwickau.

Most recently, Chemnitz has been polarised over the question of migrants since 35-year-old carpenter Daniel Hille was stabbed to death on August 26.

Police probing that killing have detained a Syrian man, Alaa S., 23, while an international warrant has been issued for an Iraqi.

In the hours after the stabbing, thousands of people took to the streets in protest, answering calls by far-right party AfD and nationalist group PEGIDA, which campaigns against what it calls the Islamisation of the West.

A week of xenophobic protests in Chemnitz in August deeply shocked Germany  prompting Chancellor Ang...
A week of xenophobic protests in Chemnitz in August deeply shocked Germany, prompting Chancellor Angela Merkel to urge Germans to stand up against the far right
Odd ANDERSEN, AFP/File

Police found themselves overwhelmed by the swift mobilisation of the region's football hooligans and right-wing extremists, with the demonstrations degenerating into mob violence against foreigners.

August's week of xenophobic protests in Chemnitz deeply shocked Germany, prompting Chancellor Angela Merkel to urge Germans to stand up against the far right.

Merkel is due to visit Chemnitz in November, but she faces a cold reception. Resentment runs deep in the city over her liberal refugee policy that led to the arrival of more than a million asylum seekers in Germany since 2015.

German police on Monday arrested six men on suspicion of belonging to a far-right “terrorist” group that attacked foreigners in the city of Chemnitz.

The German nationals, aged 20 to 31, were taken into custody for allegedly forming a group called “Revolution Chemnitz” with the aim of subverting the democratic state.

“To this end, they intended to launch violent and armed attacks against foreigners and people who have different political views,” said federal prosecutors in a statement.

Their targets included representatives of different political parties as well as members of the economic establishment, the prosecutors said.

They added that the group appeared to have been planning an assault on Germany’s Unity Day, which falls on Wednesday.

“They wanted to change the country,” investigators told Munich-based daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ).

Citing intercepted chats and telephone calls, SZ reported that the men “wanted to achieve more than the National Socialist Underground” or NSU, a neo-Nazi extremist group uncovered in 2011 that murdered 10 people and planted three bombs.

As well as politicians, the group wanted to attack journalists, who they referred to as “the media dictatorship and its slaves,” the newspaper added.

– Far-right stronghold –

The arrests once again cast an uncomfortable spotlight on extremism in Saxony state, where Chemnitz is located and which is a stronghold of the far-right party AfD.

A convey of police cars with suspected right-wing terrorists arrive at court in Karlsruhe  southwest...

A convey of police cars with suspected right-wing terrorists arrive at court in Karlsruhe, southwestern Germany, on October 1, 2018
Christoph Schmidt, dpa/AFP

Investigators are still trying to determine if the suspects were involved in the wave of xenophobic marches that swept Chemnitz at the end of August following a fatal stabbing, allegedly by an asylum seeker.

But prosecutors said that on September 14 five of the suspects “armed with glass bottles, weighted knuckle gloves, and an electroshock appliance, attacked and hurt several foreign residents” in Chemnitz.

“Investigations show that the assault was a test-run for an event that one of the accused planned for October 3, 2018,” said prosecutors.

Police are still investigating what exactly was being plotted.

More than 100 police officers were deployed to search apartments and other premises.

“With the arrests and raids, we are sending a clear signal that we are identifying and breaking up such right-wing terrorist structures early,” said Saxony interior minister Roland Woeller.

Germany’s Justice Minister Katarina Barley highlighted the suspects’ links to the football hooligan, skinhead and neo-Nazi scenes and warned that “the network under investigation does not stand in isolation.”

At least one of the men, Tom W., was convicted 10 years ago over his role as a leader of a violent 50-strong far-right group known as “Sturm 34” that was ultimately banned, SZ reported.

– Deep resentment –

Saxony, a former communist state, has gained notoriety as the home base of several extremist groups.

Right-wing protesters have staged marches in the eastern German city of Chemnitz

Right-wing protesters have staged marches in the eastern German city of Chemnitz
-, DPA/AFP/File

Eight members of a far-right outfit called the Freital group were jailed in March on terrorism and attempted murder charges for a series of explosions targeting refugees and anti-fascist activists.

Members of the NSU, responsible for several racist killings, also evaded police for years in Chemnitz and another Saxony town, Zwickau.

Most recently, Chemnitz has been polarised over the question of migrants since 35-year-old carpenter Daniel Hille was stabbed to death on August 26.

Police probing that killing have detained a Syrian man, Alaa S., 23, while an international warrant has been issued for an Iraqi.

In the hours after the stabbing, thousands of people took to the streets in protest, answering calls by far-right party AfD and nationalist group PEGIDA, which campaigns against what it calls the Islamisation of the West.

A week of xenophobic protests in Chemnitz in August deeply shocked Germany  prompting Chancellor Ang...

A week of xenophobic protests in Chemnitz in August deeply shocked Germany, prompting Chancellor Angela Merkel to urge Germans to stand up against the far right
Odd ANDERSEN, AFP/File

Police found themselves overwhelmed by the swift mobilisation of the region’s football hooligans and right-wing extremists, with the demonstrations degenerating into mob violence against foreigners.

August’s week of xenophobic protests in Chemnitz deeply shocked Germany, prompting Chancellor Angela Merkel to urge Germans to stand up against the far right.

Merkel is due to visit Chemnitz in November, but she faces a cold reception. Resentment runs deep in the city over her liberal refugee policy that led to the arrival of more than a million asylum seekers in Germany since 2015.

AFP
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