In North Rhine-Westphalia, a right-wing extremist chat group is exposed to the police. The initial suspicion has now been confirmed in 53 cases.
Düsseldorf – After right-wing extremist chat groups became known to the police in North Rhine-Westphalia, the suspicion was confirmed in 53 cases around a year later. The Ministry of the Interior in Düsseldorf announced this at the request of the dpa. The cases were made public in September 2020 and have already been finally examined and punished.
The consequences for the officials concerned are mostly of a legal nature: six commissioner candidates had been dismissed. The interior ministry announced a few weeks ago that there were two dismissals and three warnings in the labor law proceedings.
Right-wing extremism in the NRW police: 138 cases still unchecked
On the other hand, the suspicion was not confirmed in 84 clues, it was now said in a current balance sheet. They were also finally checked. If there are 138 remaining clues, the check is still ongoing. From 2017 to the end of September this year, the North Rhine-Westphalian police authorities had reported 275 suspected cases.
Of the 138 still open cases, the criminal investigation has already been concluded in 79 cases. In 59 suspected cases, both the criminal law examinations and the subsequent labor, disciplinary or civil service law examinations are still ongoing.
Police scandal in NRW: Christmas tree balls with SS runes
In September 2020, the scandal surrounding right-wing extremist chat groups at the police in North Rhine-Westphalia expanded more and more. The forbidden Horst Wessel song was found on confiscated data storage media. This is the battle song of the SA and the later party anthem of the NSDAP.
An official is said to have posted photos of Christmas tree baubles with SS runes and “Sieg Heil” inscription. Another officer had found photos with a swastika that had been laid out of service ammunition. A police officer in uniform had himself photographed standing on two patrol cars showing the “Hitler salute”. Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) spoke of the “worst and most disgusting agitation” in front of the press in Düsseldorf. At the time, more than 200 officers from the North Rhine-Westphalian police had taken action against colleagues for right-wing extremist agitation.
Under criminal law, the police officers concerned usually got away with a clean slate because the judiciary classified the WhatsApp chats as private communication. Relevant criminal offenses such as the dissemination of unconstitutional labels did not take effect. (ktho / dpa)
