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Suspicion of racism and sexism at the Federal Criminal Police Office (symbol image)
Photo: Fredrik von Erichsen / dpa
The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) is fighting an affair in its own office.
Criminal investigations are underway against three officers for threats, use of anti-constitutional symbols and dissemination of depictions of violence.
There are also disciplinary investigations against other officials.
The focus of the affair is the so-called security group of the BKA, which is responsible for the protection of government members and members of the Bundestag. Specifically, it is about the “Foreign and Special Operations” unit, which is called in primarily for delicate visits to crisis areas such as Afghanistan, Iraq or Mali. It was re-established in 2008.
On Tuesday morning, BKA President Holger Münch informed the representatives of the Bundestag Interior Committee about several incidents in the special unit.
According to this, officials are said to have made racist statements.
They are said to have referred to their countries of assignment as “bastards” and to have called their residents “bimbos”.
In a chat group, one of the BKA bodyguards is said to have posted decapitation videos, apparently to illustrate how brutal things are in some regions of the world.
Misogynistic statements are also in the room.
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Apparently, the bodyguards deployed abroad were also more than rough around one another.
At a celebration of the tenth anniversary of the unit for “foreign and special operations”, one of the officers is said to have threatened a colleague.
Another is said to have shown the Hitler salute.
After a tip from within his own ranks, BKA President Holger Münch had already filed a criminal complaint with the Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office on November 17, and the State Criminal Police Office there took over the investigation.
At the same time, the BKA set up an internal working group.
This had encountered "individual misconduct and breaches of duty", which led to the initiation of disciplinary proceedings in a total of ten cases, the authority announced on Tuesday.
There should also have been "negligence" in the documentation of ammunition that the special unit fired in large numbers during training. So far, however, the public prosecutor's office has not found any evidence that ammunition was stolen. However, the BKA examined the processes involved in handling weapons and ammunition and initiated "first measures to remedy the deficiencies identified," according to the authority. According to SPIEGEL information, the head of the department in the BKA who was previously responsible for the personal protection unit was also replaced.
The investigations so far are said not to have revealed any indications of the suspected employees being involved in criminal or extremist circles.
"The special role and responsibility of the police in society require a quick, objective and complete clarification of the allegations in the room," said BKA boss Münch.
On Thursday there is now to be a special meeting of the Bundestag interior committee on the affair.
"The allegations must be dealt with seamlessly," said the Green Party politician Irene Mihalic.
"And the question of the consequences for the organizational unit also arises."
"With officials who are active in such a sensitive area, such allegations are particularly explosive," said the SPD domestic politician Ute Vogt.
"It must now be examined carefully whether the suspects had contacts with right-wing extremists."
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