Wednesday, June 9th 2021
Right-wing extremist content shared
Investigations against 20 police officers for chats
When investigating a SEK official into possession of child pornographic material, the authorities discover chat groups in which right-wing extremist content is shared. 20 police officers are now in the sights of the Hessian authorities.
They are said to have exchanged hatred and National Socialist content: the Frankfurt public prosecutor and the Hessian state criminal investigation office are investigating several police officers who are said to have participated in right-wing extremist chats. The special task force (SEK) of the Frankfurt police headquarters is particularly affected. A total of 20 men between the ages of 29 and 54 are being investigated – 19 officers on active duty and one former police officer. Chats from Frankfurt police officers with right-wing extremist content had already become known in 2018.
The investigations that have now become known into the suspicion of using symbols of unconstitutional organizations and other criminal offenses have been running since April. A total of 17 of the officials are suspected of having shared posts with inflammatory content or images of a former National Socialist organization as participants in various chat groups. During the day there were searches of six officers’ homes and workplaces.
“Remove from police if possible”
A spokeswoman for the public prosecutor’s office said it is not yet known whether there is a connection with the chat group with right-wing extremist content in a Frankfurt police station that was uncovered almost two years ago. According to the information, the current chat contributions are mainly from the years 2016 and 2017, the last relevant content in small numbers from the beginning of 2019. Investigations were started against 3 of the 20 suspects solely on the suspicion of thwarting punishment in the office, as they were participants of the chat groups and, as supervisors, did not prevent or punish communication.
The starting point was an investigation at the Mainz public prosecutor’s office against a 38-year-old from Rhineland-Palatinate, who was most recently deployed to the SEK of the Frankfurt police headquarters. Among other things, the man is accused of owning and distributing child pornography. While evaluating his cell phones, the investigators came across the chat groups.
SEK must now be reorganized
Hesse’s Interior Minister Peter Beuth called this “completely unacceptable”. None of the accused should be active for a special unit in the country. “Where the allegations make it legally possible, we will also remove them from the Hessian police.” The officers are currently not allowed to perform their duties, one of them – against whom the Mainz public prosecutor has been investigating for a long time – will be suspended, said Frankfurt police chief Gerhard Bereswill.
The current case is further evidence that the police still have a lot of work to do, said Beuth. Bereswill announced that it would take a closer look at special police forces to prevent similar incidents. The Frankfurt SEK must now be reorganized. The ability of the special forces to work is still guaranteed. “It’s bad, it’s serious, what has come on the table here. We will deal with it intensively,” said the police commissioner. The integrity of the police is an immensely valuable asset.
Last year, the police in Mülheim / Ruhr in North Rhine-Westphalia discovered several Whatsapp groups in which right-wing extremist and racist content was exchanged.
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