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The Berlin police and prosecution appear to have been successful in the case of the long series of fires set by right-wing extremists in the Neukölln district. Officials from the “BAO Focus” arrested neo-Nazis Sebastian T. and Tilo P., who were long-time criminal suspects.
Both are accused of being involved in various arson, he said in security circles. Sebastian T. also suspects that he has illegally applied for immediate Corona aid for freelancers. The Tiergarten District Court had issued an arrest warrant for the two right-wing extremists at the request of the Public Ministry.
However, in the afternoon, the judge released Tilo P. from carrying out his preventive detention. Sebastian T. had to go to jail because the Public Ministry filed a complaint against the exemption from custody. The judge said with both neo-Nazis that there was an urgent suspicion, but that the risk of escape could be counteracted by means softer than pre-trial detention.
After the arrest, it was heard in security circles that “many pieces of the mosaic had been collected”, and that it was now enough for an arrest warrant. Apparently it paid off for the security authorities to keep a close eye on the two right-wing extremists.
[Die Brandserie ist auch regelmäßig Thema in unserem Leute-Bezirksnewsletter für Neukölln. Den gibt es hier: leute.tagesspiegel.de]
“Today’s arrests and the confirmation of the urgent suspicion by the judge are an important signal in the direction of the victims and those affected,” said Berlin Interior Senator Andreas Geisel (SPD). “They show that the investigating authorities are doing their job. Above all, I would like to thank the meticulous work of the state guards of the Berlin Police.”
According to Geisel, the problem of right-wing extremism has not disappeared with the arrests. “We all have to remain vigilant. This applies to the security authorities, but also to society as a whole. We must always and everywhere fight against exclusion, racism, hatred and violence.”
More than 70 attacks from the right
More than 70 right-wing attacks have been carried out in Neukölln since 2016, including 23 arson attacks. The attacks mainly affected the left and people involved in helping refugees. The vehicles caught fire several times. The police, the judiciary and the Senate came under increasing criticism due to the lack of successful records.
In addition to Sebastian T. and Tilo P., the neo-Nazi Julian B. is one of the three main suspects in the series of attacks. So far, it has not been clear if there will be any new findings about him.
One of the victims of the series of attacks is the left-wing politician Ferat Kocak. On the night of February 1, 2018, his car caught fire. It was just lucky that the fire didn’t spread to the adjoining house where Kocak and his parents slept. It later emerged that security authorities had evidence of the planned attack in advance, but had not warned Kocak.
The first thought: fear of a possible act of revenge.
“My first thought when I found out about the arrest was: They are probably mad that they got kicked out of bed this morning, how about an act of revenge? Who will protect me? ”Kocak told the Tagesspiegel. For him, the question arises again and again, in whom, after all the setbacks of the investigation, can he still trust.
“I wonder: why did it take so long? What evidence has been found now that has not been found in the last three years? “Kocak said. “Why did it take so long?” He and other victims of the series of attacks have long been calling for an investigative committee to examine the investigations and breakdowns.
This lawsuit continues to apply, Kocak explained: a possible conviction of the two suspects would change nothing. “The commission of inquiry is much more than these two perpetrators,” Kocak said. Rather, it is a matter of clarifying why there have been no research results since the first attacks from the right more than ten years ago. Those affected suspect that there are security breaches and right-wing networks in the authorities that would have hindered the investigation.
Those affected have little hope of an explanation
Many of those affected had little hope that the attacks would be resolved. “We are going to be surprised now,” Kocak said. “If there is still movement in it, it will be the success of years of hard work by all stakeholders, initiatives and journalists.”
SPD policy Mirjam Blumenthal was also the victim of several attacks. “I hope this gets the ball rolling and the other facts are also cleared up, including at the Anton-Schmaus-Haus,” he told Tagesspiegel. The Anton-Schmaus-Haus, run by the youth organization “Falken”, was set on fire twice in 2011. Blumenthal’s car burned down in January 2017, she was able to put out the fire herself.
“If the two suspects are also convicted of one case, it would be a giant leap,” Blumenthal said. “So I don’t think the next steps are far off.”
Left-wing interiors expert Niklas Schrader said in an interview with Tagesspiegel: “Before it is clear that the evidence is sufficient for a conviction, I cannot be completely happy.” What led to the new results is open, and what there is in recent years has failed to clarify the series. “That makes me skeptical,” Schrader said.
He also goes on to call for a commission of inquiry: “Of course this is not off the table, past mistakes must be dealt with,” continued Schrader.
The green politician Benedikt Lux also spoke on Twitter of a “good sign”, but we would have to wait for the judge’s decision. “It has taken a long time, but now the arrest warrants have been carried out. It’s good. I sincerely hope that there is an accusation and a conviction. My thanks to the police authorities, “said SPD deputy Tom Schreiber.
In October, Interior Senator Andreas Geisel (SPD) launched a commission of experts to address possible omissions by the authorities in the investigation of the far-right attacks in Neukölln. The commission includes former Eberswalde police chief Uta Leichsenring and former federal prosecutor Herbert Diemer.
Hess slogans defamation trial
The investigations against Sebastian T. and Tilo P. have not been completely fruitless in the past. In late August, a trial began against the two neo-Nazis in Tiergarten district court, accused of having defamed far-right slogans in Neukölln. During the observation of T. and P. in August 2019, police officers had noticed that the two were spraying slogans such as “Murder in Hess!” On the walls of buildings.
The neo-Nazis glorified Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler’s former MP in the NSDAP, as a martyr. Hess hanged himself in Spandau War Crimes Prison in August 1987. The scene on the right states that Hess was murdered. However, the prosecution fought to get his charges approved. The district court initially only admitted three of the 14 accusations.
The prosecutor filed a complaint with the regional court, which later accepted twelve charges. The trial began on August 31 in the local court, but quickly stalled. The judge suspended the hearing because several police officers were only allowed to give limited testimony.
In security circles it was now heard that the process could continue in February. Procedures may be combined with arson attacks because of Hess’s slogans.
