The number of suspects who are right-wing extremists rose in 2018. It is claimed that they “are very willing to use violence, weapons and explosives.” This emerges from a report by the body in charge of protecting the constitution, which is officially presented on Thursday.
The German and district federal defense offices registered 11,554 ultra-right individuals suspected of committing crimes in the last year. This represents an increase of approximately 5 percent compared with 2017. According to information from the newspaper Die Welt, an internal paper of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, which was produced for a special meeting of the Bundestag Interior Committee on the murder of politician Walter Lubeck, a member of the Christian-Democratic Union from Kassel.
Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer (Christian-Democratic Union) and President of the Federal Constitutional Protection Bureau, Thomas Haldenwang, wish to present on Thursday in Berlin the report of the body in charge of the protection of the Constitution.
A large proportion of the criminal offenses that are imputed to individuals suspected of commiting offenses – are body injuries and constitute propaganda-related offenses. The latter occupy a prominent place in statistics, perhaps because the hallmarks of anti-constitutional organizations are often used by extreme right-wingers. These include the symbols of the German National Socialist Party (NSDAP), the swastika, or symbols of organizations banned in the Federal Republic of Germany, such as Blood and Honor.
The profile of the far-right offender is male
According to the document in question, the profile of the far-right offender is, in the vast majority of cases, male. 10,547 of all those suspected of committing offenses are men, and only 1,007 are women. Therefore, the suspects display “a high propensity to the use of violence, weapons and explosives.” This was demonstrated by thr weapons and explosives that had been seized and confiscated in search operations.
Altogether, the body in charge of protecting the constitution considers 24,100 people as far-right individuals. In 2017 their number was 24,100. Their enemy figures include foreigners, especially asylum seekers and Muslims, but also politicians. Almost every other far right individual, around 12,700 people, is considered according to the report “an individual with violent orientation.” This number remains constant, compared to 2017.
The criminal offenses perpetrated due to right-wing political orientation dropped slightly to 20,431. The number of cases fell, therefore, for the 4th time in a row since 2015. On the other hand, there have been an increase in the number of violent criminal offenses and offenses related to propaganda, compared to 2017.
Thus, the number of violent offenses committed for right-wing political motives increased by 2.3 percent to 1,156.
This increase is evident in the case of bodily injuries (an increase of 4 percent to 1,000), as well as resistance offenses against representatives of the authorities (an increase of 45 percent to 77 percent). In addition, there were more murder crimes – with one actual murder and six attempted murder. By 2017 there were still four muder attempts.
The number of antisemitic acts is clearly increasing
In the case of offenses related to propaganda, the number of cases (12,582) climbed by 4.6 percent. The number of acts of violence against foreigners (7,064) increased by 14.6 percent, while the number of antisemitic criminal offenses (1,603) increased by 13.5 percent. And there were 49 antisemitic acts of violence – an increase of 69 percent.
The obvious increase in the incidence of racism is evident at a rate of 30.3 percent, totalling 1,664 cases. In most cases, this involved popular incitement (660) and bodily injury (236).
According to the body in charge of protecting the constitution, the range of issues relating to political asylum remains a prominent area of activity of the right-wing scene. The number of violent offenses, particularly bodily injuries, is Allegedly high. It is claimed that racist and hostile attitudes toward foreigners – nowadays as in the past – are firmly anchored in the right-wing scene, and are relevant in the criminal justice arena.
