In North Rhine-Westphalia there are a total of more than 200 reports of possible cases of right-wing extremism from the security authorities.
That is almost 30 more than just a month ago, said NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU).
In connection with right-wing extremist chat groups at the police in Mülheim an der Ruhr and Essen, around half of all suspensions have now been lifted.
In 16 of 31 suspended police officers, either no criminally relevant images were found or the incidents were already statute-barred, Reul said.
Suspicion confirmed in 15 cases
"Not everyone was acquitted," said the politician.
According to this, some police officers received seditious and anti-Semitic images, but already in the period between 2013 and 2015. The incidents are therefore statute-barred.
In 15 other cases, however, the allegations were substantiated and in just under ten cases of further criminal offenses were suspected.
Currently, a total of 25 officials are still suspended, 15 of them by the police in Mülheim / Ruhr and Essen.
He would apologize to all officials who were innocently suspected in the course of the affair because they had not even noticed the right-wing extremist pictures posted, Reul announced.
Two officers had over 400 relevant image files, and one had more than 200 files.
As a consequence, Reul had appointed Uwe Reichel-Offermann, Deputy Head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, as a special representative in the fight against right-wing extremism in the police.
This wants to present a national situation report by next February.
In the past few months, indications of a right-wing extremist sentiment had been discovered several times in the case of North Rhine-Westphalian police officers.
The forbidden Horst Wessel song was found on several confiscated data memories.
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 discovered photos with a swastika that had been laid from service ammunition.
A police officer in uniform had himself photographed standing on two patrol cars showing the "Hitler salute".
Music files from indexed right-wing extremist bands had also been discovered.
The Christchurch attack, in which a right-wing terrorist killed 51 people in New Zealand in March 2019, said: "Too many missed shots."
Icon: The mirror
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