A lawyer who represented victims of far-right violence had her daughter threatened, possibly by extremist police. The resulting investigation has revealed a neo-Nazi network within the Frankfurt police force.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S.Stein
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State criminal police (LKA) are investigating an alleged right-wing extremist network in the Frankfurt police force, respected German newspaper Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported Sunday.
The LKA in Hesse has reportedly set up a special investigative group after a group of police officers allegedly sent a threatening letter to a lawyer of Turkish background who has represented Islamic extremists in court.
"Dirty Turkish sow," the faxed letter to Seda Basay-Yildiz began. "You're not going to destroy Germany. You better piss off as long as you can still get out of here alive, you swine!"
Basay-Yildiz told Frankfurter Neue Presse on Saturday this part of the letter was standard fare for her regular hate letters, but she was more worried by what came next.
"In retaliation ... we will slay your daughter," it read, followed by her daughter's name and her address. It was signed with "NSU 2.0.," referring to the far-right German neo-Nazi terror group National Socialist Underground, which was active in the 2000s. Basay-Yildiz also worked in the court case against NSU members.
She told the paper that the name of her 2-year-old daughter and her private address are not public knowledge.
Officers revealed
The threat emerged in August and the resulting investigation reportedly discovered a group of at least five police officers who had been sharing neo-Nazi messages and images in a chat group — a grave offence in Germany.
Investigators reportedly stumbled upon the group after finding a police computer had been used to look up the lawyer's personal details without an official reason.
LKA officials told FAZ they were not ruling out the possibility that it could end up being a case of "much greater dimensions." The four male police officers and one female officer have been suspended from duty pending further investigation.
Basay-Yildiz criticized police after learning about the new developments in the media. She told FAZ she had repeatedly sought information on how the case was progressing, but only found out about the police network on Saturday. "I would have liked the police to have informed me beforehand," she said.
The LKA reports directly to the Hesse Interior Ministry and acts as an independent law enforcement agency.
The NSU crime scenes: a photo exhibition
The 2017 exhibition, "Bloody soil. Scenes of NSU crimes," featured Regina Schmeken's photos of sites of the right-wing group's atrocities. The images ensure that while life continues, the victims have not been forgotten.
Image: Regina Schmeken, 2015
Enver Şimşek, September 9, 2000, Nuremberg
Enver Şimşek, aged 38, was the fist victim of the far-right terrorist group Nationalist Socialist Underground (NSU). He was found on the side of an arterial road in Nuremberg with several bullets in his body. He died two days later. Regina Schmeken started photographing the sites of the NSU crimes at the beginning of 2013 and returned to them several times until 2016.
Image: Regina Schmeken, 2015
Süleyman Taşköprü, June 27, 2001, Hamburg
The grocer Süleyman Taşköprü, 31, was found here by his father, lying in a pool of blood. He died shortly afterwards. Photographer Regina Schmeken said her camera felt drawn to the ground when visiting the sites. The floor covering is still the one that was there at the time of the crime, 14 years ago.
Image: Regina Schmeken, 2015
Mehmet Turgut, February 25, 2004, Rostock
This is where 25-year-old Mehmet Turgut died. He was a temporary worker at a döner kebab stand and was shot by the NSU murderers. Through her exhibition project, Regina Schmeken sought to remember the victims through the crime scenes, by exploring the fact that they at first sight no longer offer any trace of the violent crimes that occurred there.
Image: Regina Schmeken, 2013
22 people injured, June 9, 2004, Cologne
A nail bomb which exploded on Keuptstrasse in Cologne injured 22 people - many of them seriouly. The street in the Mülheim district is known for its many Turkish and Kurdish shops. The police believed for a long time that the attack was related to a family feud.
Image: Regina Schmeken, 2013
Theodoros Boulgarides, June 15, 2005, Munich
The seventh NSU murder victim was Theodoros Boulgarides. The 41-year-old Greek man was shot three times in the head. Regina Schmeken didn't leave out manifestations of daily life in her pictures, as she wanted to demonstrate that these murders happened in animated areas.
Image: Regina Schmeken, 2013
Halit Yozgat, April 6, 2006, Kassel
The 21-year-old Halit Yozgat, born in Kassel, ran an internet café in this house, until the NSU shot him twice. Like the other NSU victims, he was found lying on the ground, executed by the far-right terrorists. He died in the arms of his father.
Image: Regina Schmeken, 2015
Michèle Kiesewetter, April 25, 2007, Heilbronn
The police officer Michèle Kiesewetter, aged 22, was shot in her patrol car in Heilbronn. She was the 10th and last murder victim of the NSU terrorist group. The memorial exhibition pursues discussions on the events and coexistence with migrant communities.
