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Status: 18.09.2020 7:03 pm – NDR 1 Radio MV
In the scandal over the right-wing talks of police officers in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, two officers were searched on Friday. (Symbol image)
Four police officers are suspected of right-wing extremism at the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania police station. This was announced by the Interior Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lorenz Caffier (CDU), on Friday night in Schwerin. Officials were noticed for chat stories in which, according to Caffier, they shared images and texts with far-right, racist, and violence-glorifying content. “Those are terrible images,” said the minister.
Searches in Bentwisch and Putbus
In this context, searches of two police officers were carried out on Friday in Bentwisch near Rostock and Putbus in Rügen. In particular, the data carriers were protected. The two policemen were suspended from their duties. Disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against the four officers, Caffier said.
VIDEO: Caffier: “There is no place for extremists in the police” (3 min)
A total of 17 state officials under suspicion
As of yet, there is no knowledge of a network, but these are no longer isolated cases, Caffier said. A total of 17 officials and a state police employee in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are suspected of exchanging far-right ideas in online conversations. Next Tuesday, the interior minister wants to present a complete list of all disciplinary procedures to the northeast police. “We are not at the beginning, we are in the middle of processing these cases.” In recent years, far-right police officers have been repeatedly exposed in the Northeast. “We will continue to process the amount of data and we cannot rule out that one or the other is not found and that the same measures that are currently being taken in this case are taken,” explained Caffier.
References to “Nordkreuz” investigations
The starting point of the current searches was the Attorney General’s investigations against the alleged far-right preparation group “Nordkreuz”, which, according to Caffier, is still ongoing. In this context, a large amount of data was obtained from a former elite police officer from the vicinity of Schwerin. This is now being increasingly evaluated, Caffier said. So far, there is no evidence of a connection between this group and the officials who are suspended today.
Caffier: No connection to far-right chats on NRW
Caffier also sees no connection to the far-right WhatsApp chats discovered in North Rhine-Westphalia. According to Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU), state investigators are targeting 30 police officers.
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