Seehofer forces ex-spy chief Maassen into retirement
November 5, 2018
The former head of Germany's domestic intelligence, Hans-Georg Maassen, has been put on "non-active status" by the interior minister. The move follows a series of controversies surrounding the ex-spy chief.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B.v. Jutrczenka
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German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said on Monday that he was temporarily relieving former domestic spy chief Hans-Georg Maassen of his duties after Maassen made "unacceptable remarks" in a farewell speech to representatives of international intelligence agencies. Seehofer, who has previously supported Maassen, said that a "cooperation based on mutual trust" was no longer possible in view of the remarks.
Maassen's critical view of the government's policy on refugees, as further revealed in the comments he made in the speech on October 18, has highlighted and contributed to rifts within Germany's coalition over the past few months.
In his address, Maassen spoke about "radical left-wing elements" in the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the junior partner in the ruling coalition, who had, he said, seized gladly upon his controversial remarks about protests in the eastern city of Chemnitz in August to provoke divisions in the government.
He also criticized Germany's current policies on refugees and security as "naive and leftist."
The text of the speech was made available on the intranet of the domestic intelligence agency BfV, from where it made its way into many hands.
Maassen, 55, came under fire from several quarters when he questioned well-documented reports of far-right violence against foreigners during the Chemnitz protests. There have also been media reports that he passed sensitive information about Islamic extremism to the anti-immigration and anti-Islam Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
The outcry prompted the government to fire Maassen as the head of the BfV. An initial compromise between Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and the SPD would have seen Maassen essentially promoted to deputy interior minister. But that deal met with such opposition both from politicians and the public that he was instead to be made a consultant reporting directly to Seehofer.
How the Chemnitz protests unfolded
Hundreds of far-right and counterprotesters clashed in Germany's Chemnitz over the death of a 35-year-old German-Cuban. Two men are suspected of having stabbed the victim several times "with no justifiable reason."
Image: Getty Images/O. Andersen
Death sparks demonstrations
The demonstrations were sparked by a deadly brawl that broke out in the German city of Chemnitz in the early hours of Sunday (August 26). What started out as a war of words resulted in a 35-year-old man being stabbed to death. Hours later, spontaneous, anti-migrant protests took over the streets of Chemnitz.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Meyer
German-Cuban killed
A German-Cuban man was stabbed in an altercation involving 10 people, several of whom were of "various nationalities," police sources said. The victim, named only as Daniel H., was apparently well-known among various political groups in the area. Two men in their 30s were also stabbed and seriously injured, and a 22-year-old Iraqi and 23-year-old Syrian are in custody over the killing.
Image: DW/B. Knight
Police reinforcements called
By Sunday afternoon, some 800 people had gathered to protest the man's death, including far-right groups. Authorities said the crowd was largely uncooperative and threw bottles at police officers. Police reinforcements had to be called in from nearby cities. The mobilizations were spontaneous and are thought to have surfaced following calls to demonstrate on social media.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Woitas
Misinformation
German authorities said that that far-right groups spread misinformation on the internet. Among the false claims was that the victim of the knife attack died protecting a woman.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/O. Andersen
Protests and counterprotests
Thousands of far-right and counterdemonstrators faced off in a second day of protest Monday. Several people were injured as objects and fireworks were hurled. Video footage showed the far-right "Pro Chemnitz" movement holding a banner with a quote from early 20th century poet Anton Günther reading "German and free we aim to be."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Woitas
'No place for Nazis'
Counter-demonstrators denouncing right-wing extremism also took to the streets of Chemnitz. Among the protesters were Antifa, who clashed with right-wing demonstrators.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/O. Andersen
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'Too late'
The chair of the opposition Left party, Katja Kipping, criticized Seehofer's move as tardy.
"The firing is overdue, but has come too late to repair the damage that the Groko has done to itself with the Maassen affair," she told AFP news agency, using a common German abbreviation for "grand coalition."
The domestic affairs expert for the Greens, Konstantin von Notz, welcomed Maassen's virtual dismissal, but also called the move "too late" and attacked Seehofer.
"The interior minister is fully responsible for this disaster," he said, adding that Maassen himself had made thousands of BfV staff jointly liable "for his conspiracy theories and resentment toward politics and media."
The AfD responded to the news by offering Maassen the chance to join its ranks.
"He would fit well into a democratic, constitutional party like the AfD," chair Jörg Meuthen told newspapers of the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, and also described Maassen as "a conscientious, excellent and thorough public official."
Germany's ex-spy chief Hans-Georg Maassen is no stranger to controversy. He has been accused of a number of improprieties throughout his career and is suspected by many of having sympathies with far-right ideology.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kappeler
Shadowy figure
Hans-Georg Maassen, the former head of Germany's Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) — the domestic intelligence service — has often drawn fire for his remarks and actions.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Hirschberger
Trouble in the Interior Ministry
Maassen gained notoriety in 2002 while working for the German Interior Ministry and arguing that Murat Kurnaz, a German resident held in the US prison at Guantanamo for five years before being released, could not return to Germany because his residency had lapsed. Herta Däubler-Gmelin, who was justice minister at the time, called Maassen's argument, "false, appalling and inhumane."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Schmidt
Vows to restore trust
In 2012, Maassen was tapped to lead Germany's top spy agency. He promised to restore faith in the BfV, which was embroiled in controversy over its entanglement in the right-wing extremist scene and his predecessor's decision to destroy files related to the neo-Nazi NSU murders.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Pilick
First calls for firing
Maassen has been accused of having "a troubled relationship with basic democratic principles" for his pursuit of bloggers on grounds of treason and trying to suppress negative stories on the BfV. In January 2017, he told parliament reports the BfV had undercover agents in the Islamist scene connected to the Berlin Christmas market attack were false. Records showing it did became public in 2018.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Hirschberger
Sympathies for the right?
Before Maassen made headlines by questioning the veracity of videos of right-wing protesters chasing foreigners through the streets of Chemnitz, he was under fire for advising right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD) on how to avoid scrutiny from his agency. He has also been accused of sharing confidential documents with the AfD before presenting them to the public.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Nietfeld
One faithful friend ...
Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (r.) continued to support Maassen even after his controversial remarks over Chemnitz. Seehofer even took the ex-spy chief into the Interior Ministry in what was essentially a promotion. But that compromise has not been seen favorably by many in Germany, and failed to calm troubled waters within the ruling coalition over the affair.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B.v. Jutrczenka
Forced out of office
Maassen was finally forced into retirement in 2018 after he spoke about "radical left-wing elements" in the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the junior partner in the ruling coalition, who had, he said, seized gladly upon his controversial remarks to provoke divisions in the government. He also criticized Germany's policies on refugees and security as "naive and leftist."
Image: Kay Nietfeld/dpa/picture-alliance
Campaigning for the Bundestag
The Christian Democrat Union in one district in the eastern German state of Thuringia chose the controversial former intelligence chief to run in this year's parliamentary election. Some 86% of party members in the small region voted in favor of Maassen becoming the party's directly-elected candidate on the ballot. The move means he has a shot at entering Germany's parliament in September.
