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BERLIN – Seven Germans described by the authorities as part of the "hooligan, skinhead and neo-Nazi scenes" in East Germany were arrested because they suspected the construction of a Far-right terrorist organization called Revolution Chemnitz – the name of the city in shock recent street clashes – announced Monday the country's federal prosecutor.
Six men, all Germans between the ages of 20 and 30, were arrested on Monday. They are believed to have acted under the direction of the seventh man, in custody since Sept. 14, when federal authorities opened the investigation, said prosecutor Peter Frank in a statement. The group was initially considered a criminal organization, he said, but other evidence, including the intention to procure semi-automatic weapons, led the investigators to suspect terrorism.
The arrests take place just weeks after the start of the violence in Chemnitz, during which extreme right-wing extremists clashed during demonstrations. A German was stabbed to death for attempting to interfere in the dispute between two recent immigrants. A Syrian is still in detention and suspected of being killed.
It was unclear when the band started qualifying as "Chemnitz Revolution" or if men chose that name because of unrest in that country.
On 14 September, the authorities reported that five of the suspects had participated in an attack on foreigners in Chemnitz. Authorities said the event appeared to be a repeat of an action scheduled for Oct. 3, a national holiday celebrating the reunification of Germany.
Since the beginning of the violence in Chemnitz, the question of how far right-wing extremist groups have been active in the country has been controversial. The German government officially has 83 people dead in the violence of the far right since 1990, but an investigation by the media Tagesspiegel and Zeit Online found that 169 people were killed by neo-Nazis or other extremists.
It was unclear whether any of the arrested men were among those who saluted the Nazi salute or shouted anti-foreign slogans during the demonstrations in Chemnitz, which led to a bitter dispute that almost split the government Chancellor Angela Merkel. After reports that right-wing extremists had "chased" foreigners during the unrest, Merkel denounced the violence, but Hans-Georg Maassen, head of the national intelligence service, disputed the veracity of the videos showing a skinhead chasing a man with black skin.
His comments raised questions as to whether the agency, officially known as the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, was able to properly investigate right-wing extremists. or had compromised his neutrality. Mr. Maassen was eventually forced to leave his post.
The federal prosecutor said that after a search involving more than 100 police officers, the authorities thought that the six men detained on Monday belonged to the scene of thugs, skinheads and neo-Nazis in the Chemnitz region and considered themselves leaders in – law scene in Saxony, "a state of East Germany.
The authorities stated that the far-right convictions of the suspects were "focused on a" revolutionary "goal of triumphing over the democratic rule of law," including "violent and armed attacks against foreigners and political beliefs" different. " and representatives of civil society, said the prosecutor.
