Fretterode trial: Neo-Nazi perpetrators use tactics of delay!

Fretterode trial: Neo-Nazi perpetrators use tactics of delay!

In the Fretterode proceedings, which are currently still pending, the lawyers for the co-plaintiff complain about stalling tactics by the Mühlhausen regional court. Despite the serious allegations against two neo-Nazis, the court has failed to set a new trial date. As taz.de reports, a co-plaintiff in Göttingen has already raised a complaint about the delay. The matter is now on ice more than 14 months after it was referred back by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) due to procedural errors.

The attack occurred in April 2018 when two journalists who wanted to document a meeting of right-wing extremists were followed through Thorsten Heise's area and seriously injured. Heise, an influential player in militant neo-Nazism, is the federal deputy of the NPD, which has now renamed itself “Die Heimat”. The neo-Nazis were armed with a knife and a wrench and brutally attacked the journalists. According to fr.de, one of the reporters suffered a stab wound, while his colleague had to be taken to hospital with a skull fracture.

Court ruling and its consequences

In September 2022, the Mühlhausen regional court sentenced the perpetrators to only mild sentences: a suspended sentence of one year and 200 hours of work. No targeted attack on the press or political motivation was acknowledged. This decision was sharply criticized by the public prosecutor and the co-plaintiffs, as the neo-Nazis were also acquitted of the robbery charge. The BGH described the assessment of the evidence as “incomplete”, which ultimately led to the judgment being overturned.

The co-plaintiffs' lawyers are pessimistic about the chances of a fair trial in Mühlhausen. Together with the Göttingen lawyer Sven Adam, they criticize the failure of the justice system and the lack of strict judgments. The court, however, rejects the allegations of delay and cites staff shortages and the time during the corona pandemic as reasons.

A look at the right-wing extremist scene

While the trial continues to take a long time, it is worth taking a look at the current developments in the right-wing extremist scene. As the Verfassungsschutz reports, the potential number of violent right-wing extremists has increased to around 15,300 people. More than 37,800 right-wing extremist crimes were recorded in 2024 - a worrying increase of 47.4% compared to the previous year. In addition, the number of violent crimes rose by 11.6% to 1,281.

The increases in physical assault crimes with a xenophobic background and in xenophobic acts of violence are particularly alarming. The question here is how the fight against this development can be continued and whether a fair verdict can actually be achieved in Mühlhausen. The case of the journalists could therefore represent a groundbreaking example for the entire legal debate on right-wing extremism in Germany.