German state prosecutors will find it much easier to define suspected neo-Nazis as members of a criminal organisation, rather than just a gang, thanks to a new ruling by the Federal Court of Justice.

From now on, prosecutors do not need to provide formal evidence such as member lists, evidence of membership fees or guidelines, in order to be able to classify a far-right wing group as a criminal organisation. Instead, a group can be classified as criminal if the crimes it has committed can be proved to be part of a "superior group intention".

The decision was made in relation to the case of five members of the group Sturm 34, who were tried for assault in the Saxony state court in Dresden in summer 2008. Three of the accused were convicted and sentenced to three and half years in youth detention centers, while the other two were acquitted.

Organized patrols

But all five suspects were cleared of belonging to a criminal organisation, a more serious crime that carries sentences of up to five years imprisonment. That decision has now been overturned, and the Court of Justice ordered all five to be retried.

The court, based in the town of Karlsruhe, described the Dresden ruling as flawed, saying it had ignored circumstances that would have defined Sturm 34, already banned by the Saxon interior ministry, as criminal. The federal court has said the case will have to be retried.

According to state prosecutors' evidence, Sturm 34 was originally founded in 2006 under the name Division Saechsischer Sturm (Saxon Storm Division). Active in the Mittweida region near Dresden, the group is accused of organizing skinhead patrols to beat up left-wingers and immigrants. The group is said to have around 50 members.

bk/AFP/epd
Editor: Michael Lawton