- The accused wants to testify.
After a nearly four-week hiatus, the Frankfurt terror trial involving Heinrich XIII, Prince Reuss, resumed. The Higher Regional Court focused once again on the searches conducted at the nine defendants' residences. On the 17th day of the trial, the presiding judge Jürgen Bonk read out reports of the searches at the homes of Hans-Joachim H. and Johanna F., as well as the already deceased Norbert G.
Former Bundestag member to testify
For the afternoon session, Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, a former AfD Bundestag member and Berlin judge, planned to make statements regarding the charges against her. The federal prosecutor alleges that she infiltrated other defendants into the Bundestag and helped them reconnoiter the building. She is said to have been a member of the so-called "Council of the Union" and responsible for the justice portfolio. Additionally, she is accused of actively trying to recruit more people for the Reuss union.
Three trials running parallel
In Frankfurt, nine defendants are accused of being members of a terrorist organization or supporting it. They are alleged to have planned an armed coup, knowingly accepting casualties. Until the verdict, the defendants are presumed innocent. In total, 26 suspected conspirators are facing charges in this complex, with two parallel trials taking place in Munich and Stuttgart.
Despite the ongoing trials in Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Munich, and Stuttgart, extreme ideologies within the Reuss union continue to present significant concerns. The federal prosecutor argues that Birgit Malsack-Winkemann's role in the alleged extremist group, as a member of the "Council of the Union" and with responsibilities in justice, contributed to the spread of such ideologies among the defendants.
