Germany arrests minors in strike against far-right ‘terrorist’ group

Audio By Carbonatix

By Ludwig Burger

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -German authorities on Wednesday arrested five adolescents suspected of forming a far-right terrorist group and said the charges included attempted murder and severe arson.

The arrests, and three earlier similar arrests, follow arson attacks on a community centre in the eastern state of Brandenburg in October and on a migrant shelter in Saxony in January.

Federal prosecutors said the suspects were male culpable minors who formed a group which styled itself as the “last wave of defence” to protect the “German nation”.

They listed the first names and initials of the last names of eight German suspects associated with the group, but did not give their ages beyond saying they were minors when they acted.

The group’s “aim is to commit acts of violence primarily against migrants and political opponents to bring about the collapse of the democratic system of Germany,” the prosecutors’ statement said.

Plans for another arson attack on a Brandenburg migrant shelter were thwarted by the arrests, which involved more than 220 police officers and searches of premises across five regional states.

Speaking to parliament, interior minister Alexander Dobrindt said: “We will simply not tolerate terrorist groups attempting to abolish the Republic.”

German Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig said the suspects’ young age was upsetting. “We need policies that avert a radicalisation, in particular of the youth,” she said.

Federal prosecutors said late on Tuesday they were also investigating a 35-year-old Syrian national suspected of attempted murder after he attacked a group of people in a bar in the city of Bielefeld on Sunday. Prosecutors described it as an attack on German democracy with a likely religious motivation.

A series of attacks by migrants have fuelled resentment among some Germans and driven support for the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD.

Politically motivated crimes in Germany surged about 40% to a record high last year, an interior ministry report showed on Tuesday, with an especially sharp growth seen in far-right violence.

The AfD scored its best-ever result in national elections in February, calling for tighter immigration controls and a departure from the European Union.

(Additional reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Philippa Fletcher)