Highest German Judiciary Court - Last ruling on "NSU 2.0" warning note
The court ruling against the individual behind the so-called "NSU 2.0" threats is valid. The Third Senate of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe revealed this on Monday. They slightly modified the verdict passed down by the Frankfurt District Court and generally rejected the appeal. Originally, the court sentenced the Berlin man to five years and ten months in prison for charges like incitement to hatred, disruption of the peace via threats of crimes, unconstitutional symbol usage, insults, attempted assault, and threats.
It all started in August 2018 when this person sent a wave of hate-filled threats through emails, faxes, and text messages to lawyers, politicians, journalists, and public figures. Among the recipients were satirist Jan Böhmermann, TV host Maybrit Illner, and cabaret artist Idil Baydar.
The threats started with death threats against Frankfurt lawyer Seda Basay-Yildiz and her family. The letters were marked "NSU 2.0" – referencing the right-wing terrorist group National Socialist Underground (NSU). The NSU had perpetrated murders and attacks under this name between 2000 and 2007, killing nine Turkish and Greek-descended small business owners and a policewoman while injuring many more with explosive devices.
BGH Upholds Lone Perpetrator Status
The prosecution demanded seven and a half years in prison. However, the defendant pleaded his defense and requested an acquittal. He claimed he was merely a member of a chat group on the darknet, and the threats discovered on his computer were placed there by others. He steadfastly denied the crimes. His arrest in May 2021 was a result of internet research and linguistic analyses.
The assumption that this man acted alone faced criticism from the beginning. The court struggled to explain how the perpetrator acquired personal data from the victims. For four victims, the defendant's information came from illegally obtained police data during the investigation. Nevertheless, the investigations failed to reveal any ties between him and police circles or connections to possible supporters or accomplices. Eventually, the courts assumed he was the only offender.
The BGH changed the categorization for one case, however. In this situation, the man brandished a loaded pistol at police officers to thwart his arrest. The BGH deemed this differently than the original court, which classified it as an assault on police officers. Since the man didn't physically attack the officers but merely threatened them with violence, the case was reclassified to resistance against execution officers. This alteration didn't influence the prison sentence's duration.
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Source: www.stern.de
