The verdict against left-wing radicals from Leipzig could be the start of a wave of violence. Is there even a threat of terrorism? At least that’s what security authorities fear.
It’s cold in February this year in the Hungarian capital, Budapest. Nevertheless, the sun is shining, a man unsuspectingly strolls through a shopping street and looks at his mobile phone. It might also be a sheet of paper, but the pixelated video from a surveillance camera doesn’t show it that precisely. He is unprepared for what follows now. The scenes that then play out can hardly be surpassed in terms of brutality.
Antifascism with the hammer
Eight partially masked people follow the man, one of them suddenly pulls out a so-called blackjack and hits his head from behind. He stumbles, falls and is then kicked and hit by the group on the ground. When the group is done, they spray what could be tear gas in the victim’s face. They had apparently identified him as a neo-Nazi on the occasion of the commemoration day for the SS in Budapest.
The attackers were therefore German anti-fascists. And not just any.
The Hungarian police are looking for Johann G., an outstanding person in the German autonomous scene, because of the attack with a mug shot, among other things. He has disappeared for a good two years – and is said to be the fiancé of Lina E., who has just been sentenced to more than five years in prison. Because of the process, parts of the scene want to riot in Leipzig this Saturday, others just demonstrate.
Investigations expanded
But the connection between G. and E. raises questions: the federal prosecutor general at the district court accused the young leftist and her co-defendants of having founded a criminal organization to commit attacks of this kind on neo-Nazis. They were sentenced, among other things, for hammer attacks on the neo-Nazi scene in Eisenach, which was also militant. The media dubbed them “hammer gang”.
During the trial, however, there were further attacks in which neo-Nazis were beaten with hammers and some seriously injured. The investigations have been expanded several times and, according to information from “Welt”, now include 15 people in the woman’s environment. There were searches and further arrests. There is suspicion that the group could have far more members than the people accused at the Dresden Regional Court.
How strong their merger actually is, remained unclear. According to a key witness, G. is said to be a driving force behind several robberies. At the same time, other German autonomists are being sought because of the attacks. They are also considered fugitives – which is causing increasing concern for the German security authorities. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution suspects that the group will continue to exist and will not shy away from further attacks.
Terrorism? “Then the moment is getting closer”
“We don’t see the threshold to terrorism being crossed yet,” said Thomas Haldenwang, President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, shortly after the verdict was announced. “But if the radicalization spiral continues and the deeds become more and more brutal and unrestrained, then the moment draws closer when one has to speak of left-wing terrorism.” After all, living underground – as other cases show – often leads to radicalization and an increasing willingness to use violence. This is also the assessment of a paper by the Federal Criminal Police Office, which the “Spiegel” reported on. The “Red Army Faction” (RAF) is an example of this. Investigators are now seeing parallels.
