The German public prosecutor's office has indicted twelve suspected right-wing extremists suspected of having wanted to instigate attacks against politicians, refugees and Muslims in the country, judicial sources said.
Read also: Germany: swastikas in Halle one year after the anti-Semitic attack
The twelve men are accused of having participated in a "
terrorist organization
", or of having supported it, and "
of violating the legislation on weapons
", said these sources, confirming information from the regional radio SWR.
It will now be up to the Stuttgart court to set the date for their trial.
The small group, created in September 2019, was dismantled in February and their members imprisoned as part of a vast anti-terrorism investigation marked by a series of searches throughout Germany.
One of them has meanwhile committed suicide in prison, according to media reports.
Their goal: to carry out attacks against politicians, asylum seekers and Muslims in order to provoke "
conditions similar to a civil war
" in the country, the prosecution said at the time.
The men, all Germans, had gathered several times to discuss their plans and communicated regularly through message groups.
According to research by the
Bild
newspaper
and the weekly der Spiegel, the small group specifically targeted Muslim places of worship during prayers modeled on the bombing in Christchurch, New Zealand, which killed 51 people. in two mosques last year.
They intended to use semi-automatic weapons in particular.
The investigators learned of their project from an informant infiltrated into the group.
Read also: New Zealand: how the trial of the Christchurch mosques killer will unfold
During the searches, they had found "
knives
", "
crossbows
", "
grenades
", but also a "
hunting rifle
" and a "
pistol
".
German authorities are worried about the rise of far-right terrorism, in particular since the murder of a pro-migrant German elected official, member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's party, in June 2019.
In October of the same year, a neo-Nazi attempted to carry out an attack on a synagogue in Halle.
Not being able to get in, he shot a passerby and the customer of a kebab sandwich restaurant.
Interior Minister Horst Seehofer immediately announced the creation of some 600 new police posts assigned to the fight against the “
growing threat
” of far-right terrorism in the country.
Germany bans neo-Nazi small group
