Fretterode trial: Justice scandalized by neo-Nazi attack on journalists!

Fretterode trial: Justice scandalized by neo-Nazi attack on journalists!

In the Fretterode proceedings, it appears that the Mühlhausen regional court is using a stalling tactic. This issue was addressed by the co-plaintiffs and a co-plaintiff from Göttingen with a complaint about the delay, because more than 14 months after the remand by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH), the trial has still not been rescheduled. Many people ask themselves the question: How can this be? In April 2024, the Federal Court of Justice overturned the regional court's less strict ruling on the attack by neo-Nazis on two journalists and referred the proceedings back to another chamber. The public prosecutor's office and the co-plaintiffs had already spoken out sharply about the verdict, which did not view the crime as a targeted attack on the press.

This attack occurred in April 2018 in Thuringia when two journalists tried to document a meeting of right-wing extremists at the property of the well-known neo-Nazi Thorsten Heise. As they tried to retreat in their car, they were chased by the attackers. During this chase there was a brutal attack with a baseball bat, a knife and pepper spray. One of the journalists was so badly injured that he suffered a stab wound, while the other suffered a skull fracture. The defendants, Nordulf H., Heise's son, and Gianluca B., received surprisingly mild sentences in September 2022: a suspended sentence of one year and 200 hours of work, which was perceived by the public as scandalous because the court did not want to recognize a political motive for the crime. The question arises here: How far can it go if neo-Nazis are protected by the judiciary?

Review of the process

The district court's ruling was deemed incorrect by the BGH, which found, among other things, that the assessment of evidence was incomplete and that the statements of those involved were not presented in a comprehensible manner. The application for an appeal by one of the accused was rejected by the BGH because a direct knife attack was not considered proven in the evidence. The only point of contention that remained was the whereabouts of the camera, which belonged to the journalists. This renewed examination could have a decisive impact on the co-plaintiffs, who are currently unsure whether they will take part in the trial again.

The delays are currently being explained by the court level as the result of numerous urgent proceedings, as well as the corona pandemic and staff shortages. Nevertheless, the impression remains that there are more hurdles waiting for the judiciary and the co-prosecution than are justified. The lawyer Sven Adam criticized the situation and argued that the justice system in Mühlhausen was failing and that it was time to put the neo-Nazis on trial instead of protecting them.

The context of right-wing extremism

The entire situation highlights the worrying rise of right-wing extremism in Germany. According to the current figures from the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the potential for violence-oriented people has now reached the mark of around 15,300 people. In addition, right-wing extremist criminal and violent crimes rose to 37,835 in 2024, which corresponds to an increase of 47.4% compared to 2023. Particularly noteworthy is the increase in physical offenses with a xenophobic background, which increased by 4.8% to 916 cases.

Right-wing extremist demonstrations remain at a high level, even though there were no more right-wing extremist music events last year, down from 322 in 2023. The topics of migration, asylum and anti-queer sentiment continue to resonate with the demonstrators, which shows that this current in the country is far from stopped. All of these factors increase the feeling of insecurity and emphasize the responsibility of the courts to take a clear stance against such acts.

How long will the trial in Fretterode be delayed, and how decisively will the justice system ultimately react to this increasingly violent and intolerant current?