[ad_1]
The radical right-wing scene in Winterthur has lost members, but a hard core remains active. Now the canton police are increasing their pressure.
Steely from the frozen mountain lake: The encounter with German neo-Nazis in the Swiss mountains, organized by Eszil (striped pants), triggered a major police operation.
Photo: PD
Cows graze in the lush green in front of the mountain hut. It would be an idyllic sight if it weren’t for a group of right-wing extremists in shorts. Suddenly the niggas stop Cars on the dirt road in front of the wooden fence that surrounds the property. Masked men jump. They wear yellow armbands with the words “Police” on them. The scene can be reconstructed with the help of photographs. Sanny K., an East German neo-Nazi who was present, later bragged on Twitter that there were also snipers with assault rifles and balaclavas.
Although there is no search warrant, reviewed Police seized the mountain hut and the cars parked in front of it, including a VW pickup that used to arrive in the Winterthur Eszil. “Eszil” is the online pseudonym of the 19-year-old art student who allegedly leads the Iron Youth, a neo-Nazi cell that has spread terrorist propaganda and racist hate messages through a telegram channel, among other things. (read our research here).
“Hiking week” with a glacial lake
Subsequently, the police of the canton of Schwyz informed them to have a raid on the mountain hut on August 14. A search warrant was not necessary because there were “urgent suspicions of objects that were to be confiscated.” Police found boxing gloves and some cartridges, but carrying ammunition is not prohibited in Switzerland. A criminal complaint was dropped because neo-Nazis could not prove anything illegal. A total of seven people were searched, including a member of the neo-Nazi who was banned in Germany-NORTHetzwerks Blood & Honor.
The five-day meeting of Swiss and the German neo-Nazis disguised themselves as “hiking week.” On this pretext, Eszil booked the Schwyz mountain hut and paid the rent of more than 2,000 Swiss francs. Sometimes people would walk, for example, to Lake Griesslisee in Uri, at the foot of the Clariden glacier. One photo shows Eszil along with other right-wing radicals bathing in the frozen glacial lake. It was about strengthening the body, martial arts, sharing and networking of like-minded people.
It was not until July that the German Sanny K. of the Junge Revolution organized a kind of military sports camp for neo-Nazis in Thuringia, which was dismantled by the police. The kind of revolution that is meant becomes clear when K. mentions the old Nazi song composed by Hans Baumann on Twitter: “The rebels forgot yesterday. They build tomorrow obsessed with faith. Of faith in the eternal kingdom. “On the Internet, K.s Young Revolution money for “planning and implementing more camps for our youth who are loyal to their homeland.”
Insured assault rifles and pistols
Two days before the assault on the mountain refuge it’s the canton of Zurich police during a search of Eszil’s apartment most successful. The art student lives with his parents in a residential area of Winterthur. Across the street, at Eszil’s friend and neighbor, Martin K. (name changed), police officers are also searching the interiors. In the case of the two 19-year-old Swiss, they found three assault rifles and three pistols. Only some of them were legally registered, says one researcher who wants to remain anonymous. In addition, there are ammunition boxes, Hunderte cartridges.
The cantonal police then announced that the two men were suspected of having “far-right ideas.” Several firearms had been seized from them. The cantonal police do not want to say more about the ongoing proceedings. Prosecutor gibt Buttoned. When asked whether criminal proceedings were ongoing in relation to Eszil and the Eisenjugends, the Zurich Public Prosecutor’s Office answered affirmatively, but without listing the crimes investigated.
Eszil’s lawyer hasbe officially he is not aware of any criminal proceedings against his client laufe, says on request. However, the Winterthur governor’s office ordered the preventive collection of firearms that Eszil had legally acquired.
Change of opinion among the nationalist youth
This newspaper tried in various ways to contact Eszil and Martin K.to face the latest accusations; Neither wanted to comment. The presumption of innocence applies to both.
The two Winterthur residents are members of the same shooting club. While Eszil at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHreK), Martin K. soI just finished an apprenticeship. The two 19-year-olds also pose for a group photo of the Swiss Nationalist Youth (NJS), a second group of right-wing extremists in Winterthur. Eszil and Martin K. have ain the photo red-white-red balaclava from NJS. The NJS has officially disbanded, and most of the former members are now clearly distancing themselves from National Socialism and hatred of Jews. “We do not want to have anything to do with it,” say several of them when consulted by this newspaper.
In an iron youth propaganda film, a man in the nationalist youth balaclava poses, it could be Eszil.
Videostill
The actions of the canton police also contributed to this change of opinion. Unlike Germany and Austria, here areGermany however no legal basis to prevent unconstitutional actions by violent extremists. This is also one of the reasons why German neo-Nazis come to meet like-minded Swiss people so often. According to an investigation by this newspaper, the criminal proceedings against the neo-Nazis in Winterthur refer to alleged violations of the gun law and the anti-racism criminal law, as well as breaking and entering and material damage.
Proximity to Blood & Honor
Regardless, Eszil and a handful of the faithful carry on. On the far-right scene there is talk of late-night gatherings, including the Hitler salute, with the hard core of Winterthur neo-Nazis increasingly under the wing of violent groups like Blood & Honor.
On the website www.change.org More than 1900 people have signed a petition to keep Eszil away from the Zurich Art Academy in the future: «We – students, relatives and graduates of the ZHreK – we feel threatened when a person with such an inhuman, racist, sexist and anti-Semitic mentality can move freely in college. “
This week, the anti-fascists held a demonstration in front of the ZHDK. They held up a banner and handed out colorful flyers informing them that Eszil is a student at ZHDK. They asked the university to view the incident as an obligation to “do preventive work against right-wing extremism within its own ranks.”
Area ban for Eszil in the ZHDK
The school has acted in the meantime. Shortly after the raids on Winterthur andnorth Schwyzer Mountains came according to one with the processes in the ZHreK reliable source for a conversation between college and art student Eszil. To avoid a backlash or even an uproar, the cantonal police were also present.
The ZHreK only informs you to have initiated disciplinary action against Eszil, and add: “These measures can lead to exclusion from studying at the ZHreK lead. “In addition, Winterthur was prohibited from entering the university area. Eszil by name no longer has access to the university’s courses and infrastructure.
Winterthur Police Chief Barbara Günthard-Maier (FDP) writes on request that she currently does not see any serious danger to the residents of the city of Winterthur due to the right-wing extremist scene.: «The police constantly carry out proper risk assessments. The city council condemns all forms of violent extremism and does not tolerate it in any way. “She mentioned ausserdemthat there is a procedure in the city of Winterthur police.
