[ad_1]
Police have been searching the home and office of an active Bundeswehr soldier since early Monday morning. The Rostock prosecutor’s office confirmed to the ARD magazine “Kontraste” that the soldier was being investigated for “suspicion of preparation of an act of serious violence that endangers the state under article 89a of the Penal Code”. Around 70 emergency services are involved in the searches.
In the morning, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office responsible for the AFP news agency said that electronic media and documents were seized during the search. No weapons or explosives were found. There is no arrest warrant for the Bundeswehr soldier, he said he behaved cooperatively during the police operation. So far, there has been no evidence of accomplices, the spokesperson added.
“Kontraste” reported that the man was a 40-year-old soldier from the Tollense barracks in Neubrandenburg. He had good contacts in far-right circles, he told himself. The Bundeswehr did not initially receive any comment on the case.
In early September, it emerged that the Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) had significantly expanded its investigations against right-wing extremist soldiers. As SPIEGEL learned at the time, the Defense Ministry reported in a confidential Defense Committee meeting that the MAD was currently processing 712 cases of alleged cases of right-wing extremism. Since August, the number has increased from 638 by ten percent.
The MAD classifies soldiers as suspicious cases against which their own findings are available or which have been reported by colleagues due to an extremist attitude. If the suspicion is confirmed by investigations by the army intelligence service, the Bundeswehr will seek disciplinary proceedings against the soldiers. In particularly serious cases, the procedures can lead to exclusion from force.
The Ministry attributes the highest number of references to known scandal reports from the Special Forces Command (KSK). The sad climax of the revelations in the vicinity of the KSK was the arrest of instructor Philipp Sch., During which investigators found an arsenal hidden in the garden with thousands of rounds of ammunition, two kilos of plastic explosives and an abundance of Nazi votes in May. According to the ministry, evidence of his right-wing extremist sentiments has now been confirmed in the case.
