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The accused stands in a hall of the Leipzig Regional Court: he is accused of violating the War Weapons Control Act, the Weapons Act and the Explosives Act
Photo: Sebastian Willnow / dpa
The Bundeswehr's Special Forces Command (KSK) keeps making headlines because of suspected right-wing extremist movements in its own ranks.
In one of the best-known cases, the process has now started before the Leipzig Regional Court.
In the garden of 45-year-old Philipp Sch.
the police discovered a weapon stash during a search in May 2020.
In court, the alleged right-wing extremist accused now admitted to having created the camp.
He had collected the material from remnants of the Bundeswehr and used it in training, said Sch.
in court.
The accused named his experience in the Bundeswehr as the reason for this.
Allegedly there were always bottlenecks in the troops.
He wanted to train his soldiers as best as possible and therefore stored weapons and ammunition.
"I myself assumed that this was unusable material," said the defendant.
In his opinion, the objects were "harmless".
He later brought parts of it to his private property.
The KSK has access to the most modern weapons and equipment.
It is partly decoupled from the regular procurement system of the army.
It therefore seems unlikely that there will be material shortages at this unit.
The elite soldier Sch.
must answer for violations of the War Weapons Control Act, the Weapons Act and the Explosives Act.
At the start of the trial, public prosecutor Ron Franke from the Dresden Public Prosecutor's Office described which weapons and ammunition had been found during the search on the property of the defendant last May in the northern Saxony district.
These included an AK-47 assault rifle, explosives and a large arsenal of ammunition.
The man was arrested in May.
He was released at the end of November against restrictions.
The raid on his property took place after a tip from the military counterintelligence service.
According to the General Prosecutor's Office, the specific motive for the crime is still unclear.
So far there have been no indications that other members of the Bundeswehr are involved.
A verdict is expected in late March.
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asc / dpa / AFP
