Comprehensive News Agency, Agence France-presse, and other foreign media reports, the German federal prosecutor’s office said on the 5th that in the police raids carried out the same day in three European countries, hundreds of police smashed a far-right radical group in Germany and arrested several members, seizing weapons and equipment. It is alleged that the group conspired to stage a coup d’état with the aim of establishing a nazi-like regime.
The report said eight people had been arrested at locations in eastern Saxony ? Sachsen?Land and neighbouring Poland. In Austria, premises associated with members of the group were also searched by local police. German citizen Yorg Zgorzelec, who is said to be the leader of the group, was arrested in Poland on the same day. The oldest of those arrested was 25 years old, DPA said.
Prosecutors said the group, which has about 15-20 members, was characterised by “Racism, antisemitism and in some cases even endorsement of the ‘end of the world’ philosophy”. The statement added that the group had conspired to stage a coup to seize power by force in Saxony ? Sachsen?Land and parts of other eastern German states “In order to build Nazism-inspired government and social structures”.
Members of the group, known as the “Separatists of Saxony”, are said to be plotting to establish a “Nazism Order” in German political and social life through the so-called “Collapse” of civilization. Under the group’s plan, “Undesirable populations will be removed from the area through ethnic cleansing if necessary”, prosecutors said.
The German justice minister, Marco Buschmann, said in a statement that “Their inhumane plan even included ethnic cleansing”, adding that, the arrests highlight the importance of protecting Germany’s political order from“Multiple” threats. “We must do all we can to defend Germany’s liberal democracy from its enemies,” he added
According to German law enforcement, the far-right group was founded in November 2020 and its members received paramilitary training in the use of guns and protective equipment, some of the weapons were seized in a police raid early Friday morning. “The use of weapons and military hardware shows how dangerous these far-right elements are,” said Nancy Fezay, the German Interior Minister
Der Spiegel, citing security sources, said one of the eight arrested was an AFD politician known officially as “Courtes H.”. Reported that he is a member of the city council in Greema, Saxony. In the state’s recent parliamentary elections, the afd came in second among political parties.
The German federal prosecutor’s office confirmed that there had been injuries during the arrest and that the situation was still under investigation. Several German media outlets, including the German public broadcaster ARD, said “Courtes H” had been shot in the jaw after police fired a warning shot as he tried to pick up a rifle before his arrest. He subsequently underwent surgery and was not in critical condition. It is not clear which side fired the bullet.
According to the German news agency, the afd branch in Saxony denied having any connection with the militant group. Hallas, a spokesman for AFD, said: “We have nothing in common with this possible neo-nazi separatism.”.