Parliament - Motion to question Zschäpe in NSU committee fails
The state parliament 's committee of inquiry into the activities of the right-wing terror cell NSU in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has once again failed in its attempt to hear Beate Zschäpe, who was convicted of murder. On Monday, the FDP once again applied for Zschäpe to be heard as a witness, but was unable to get its way, as the opposition parliamentary group announced.
Faction leader René Domke emphasized that it was not about giving Zschäpe a platform, but about clarification. She had been a key figure in the National Socialist Underground. Her knowledge could contribute to clarifying the structures and relationships in the Rostock crime scene area. "In addition, her testimony could also provide information on the robberies of the Stralsund savings bank in November 2006 and January 2007." Furthermore, Zschäpe could possibly explain the contradiction between the high degree of conspiracy and the publication of the cover name"NSU" in a donation letter and an acknowledgement in the neo-Nazi magazine "Der Weisse Wolf". Zschäpe had already been questioned by the NSU committee of inquiry of the Bavarian state parliament.
Following the testimony of a former federal prosecutor general on Monday, SPD MP Bernd Lange emphasized his statement that no evidence of an NSU support network had been found in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. "This finding is essential for understanding the structure and scope of the NSU and has important implications for the further investigation and reappraisal of NSU activities," said Lange. The name of the former Federal Prosecutor General was not mentioned.
Committee member Michael Noetzel from the Left Party expressed his disappointment. The former chief prosecutor had hardly been able to provide any information on the facts in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. "I had expected today's hearing to shed light on the specific subject of our investigation," Noetzel explained. The witness was unable to provide any new information on possible contact persons, the choice of crime scene or the neo-Nazi magazine "Der Weisse Wolf".
The "National Socialist Underground" (NSU) was a terrorist cell consisting of Zschäpe, Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Böhnhardt, who carried out ten murders throughout Germany, one of them in Rostock, over a period of years from 2000 onwards. Their victims were nine businessmen of Turkish and Greek origin and a German policewoman. Two savings bank robberies in Stralsund can be attributed to her. Mundlos and Böhnhardt killed themselves in 2011 to avoid arrest - only then was the NSU uncovered.
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Source: www.stern.de
