Xenophobic protests in Freital

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Participants in the racist protest on June 26, 2015

Xenophobic protests in Freital took place in 2015. The demonstrations became known nationwide from June 22, 2015, when Freitalers and right-wing extremist sympathizers who had traveled there protested against the accommodation of asylum seekers in a former hotel. Over 1,500 demonstrators, some of them right-wing extremists, demonstrated and besieged the building complex.

The Freital group was recruited from this movement (self-designation as Bürgerwehr FTL / 360 or Bürgerwehr Freital). In Freital and Dresden, there were repeated explosive attacks on asylum shelters and left-wing politicians after the protests. The federal prosecutor's office assumes that the attacks were carried out by the group and is investigating members for forming a terrorist group . A total of 8 members were arrested for various attacks and charged in November 2016.

background

The city of Freital, with around 40,000 inhabitants, is located southwest of the state capital Dresden . From the 2014 local elections , the CDU and the Free Voters' Association emerged as the strongest parliamentary groups. The alternative for Germany reached 9.6 percent, the NPD 4 percent. According to the Leipzig political scientist Robert Feustel, Freital has a strong radical base and a broad spectrum of right-wing conservative voters. He accused the politicians in Freital of having used the stereotype of “criminal foreigners” in the months leading up to the protests , which was compatible with the “far right”.

Asylum seekers

From January 2015, demonstrations took place in Freital against the accommodation of asylum seekers. Pegida founder Lutz Bachmann was a frequent guest . Since March 2015, the citizens' initiative “Freital defends itself - No to the hotel home” against the accommodation of refugees. The leader of the group is René Seyfried from Freital. He also ran as a candidate for mayor election . He received 8.8 percent of the vote. At the beginning of May 2015, in response to a request from Landtag member Lutz Richter (Die Linke), the state government stated that no hooligans known to the police had been involved in the demonstrations of the citizens 'initiative and that the state's protection of the constitution was not monitoring the citizens' initiative. "There is no evidence of links between right-wing extremist efforts and 'Freital defends itself - No to the hotel home'", the state government said.

The Pegida offshoot "Frigida" operates in the same environment as BI. This initiative is organized on the Facebook page "Frigida - our city stays clean - Freital is free" and uses the rhetoric of the Pegida movement , which tries to defame the media as lying press .

After two Moroccan asylum seekers were attacked on bus line 360 , a group called " Bürgerwehr FTL / 360 " was founded. Since then, the members have allegedly patrolled Freital buses on a regular basis to “ensure order and security”. The police observed a few participants during the demonstrations, who were wearing clothing labeled “Vigilante FTL / 360”. After an investigation at the end of 2015, a raid against the “FTL / 360 vigilante group” took place in March 2016.

Various Facebook groups are active even after the public protests (2016) and propagated xenophobic attitudes. They had titles such as “Freital Citizens' Initiative”, “Fries Valley - Freital is and will remain free” and “Freital Resistance” (based on the Freital vigilante group ).

Welcome alliance

In return, the "Organization for Open-mindedness and Tolerance Freital and Surroundings" organized demonstrations in front of the refugee home with up to 250 participants from March 2015.

A man from the area around Freital founded the blog "Perlen aus Freital", on which he documents some strongly racist and fascist comments from social networks. He told the FAZ that he wanted to use the published real names and photos to give the right-wing extremist statements a face and make them more tangible. He hopes that family members, friends or employers of the people will become aware of the pillory.

course

From January 2015 there were public protests against asylum seekers and their accommodation in Freital.

The CDU member of the Bundestag Klaus Brähmig wanted to hold an event on the subject of asylum on March 13 at the “ Zum Goldenen Löwen ” inn . He had to cancel because of threats. He told the Sächsische Zeitung: "The police informed me that they had concerns about ensuring general security". Brähmig's office reported that there had been massive online threats against the event.

In April and May 2015, the RAA Saxony's counseling center for victims of right-wing violence counted ten attacks in the city. At the end of March 2015, a refugee was attacked and beaten in a bus. In mid-April 2015, a left-wing politician who campaigned for asylum seekers was attacked. On April 20, the local police stopped two well-known neo-Nazis with a Molotov cocktail in front of the refugee home. Stones were thrown at the accommodation again and again. One refugee was severely cut from splinters from a window pane. Fireworks detonated at least once in the accommodation in early May 2015.

Three men attacked a Moroccan on the way to the refugee accommodation. They beat and kicked him until he passed out. He spent several days in the hospital. The Moroccan has now voluntarily left for Italy at the request of the immigration authorities. He previously told the RAA Saxony that the racist aggressiveness in Freital was unprecedented. He couldn't imagine ever coming to Germany again.

On May 23, there was an attack at Freital-Deuben train station . A group of at least ten neo-Nazis attacked and beat an asylum seeker.

On Monday evening, June 22nd, 2015, new refugees arrived at the dormitory. Opponents of the accommodation greeted them with loud protests and threats. Up to 160 asylum seekers gathered in front of the home every day in the following weeks. The Saxony police were there with one to two hundred teams who were able to prevent direct escalations. On Friday, June 28, 2015, a large number of right-wing extremists from Dresden came to support the asylum opponents from Freital.

On July 6, 2015, a citizens' meeting was called to discuss the issue. Even at the beginning of the meeting, those present protested angrily, as not all those interested could fit into the event hall, which could accommodate a maximum of 280 people. At the event, Saxony's Interior Minister Markus Ulbig admitted errors in communication. In the hall, supporters of the refugees were shouted down by those present. The microphone was taken away from a panelist of the “Initiative for Open-mindedness and Tolerance Freital” during a speech. Many participants said they made a distinction between “war refugees” who are welcome and “economic refugees” who come “only for economic reasons”.

On the night of July 27, 2015, a city council member's vehicle exploded. The vehicle owner, who sits on the city council for the Die Linke faction, had previously received several threats because he campaigns for asylum seekers in the city and is a member of the “Organization for Open-mindedness and Tolerance Freital and Surroundings”. The police suspect a right-wing extremist background.

In mid-July 2015, the artist group “Dies Irae” (Day of Anger) put up black and white posters with slogans against right-wing extremism at ten bus stops in Freital as an ad-busting campaign. The posters were removed after a short time by the company operating the showcases.

On July 31, 2015, 500 people demonstrated for a humane refugee policy and against racism in Freital. The Leipzig alliance called “Refugees welcome”. A spokeswoman for the action network said: “The agitation against refugees must come to an end.” The demonstration march should come to an end on the Freitaler Neumarkt at the event of the Freitaler Organization for Cosmopolitanism and Tolerance. The event of the Freitaler Bündnis had to be moved there. A street party was actually supposed to take place at the Leonardo Hotel, which had been organized for a long time together with asylum seekers. The day before the festival, the responsible district office Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge had banned all public gatherings planned for Friday at the asylum seeker accommodation Am Langen Rain. The reason for this is the announcement of actions around the former Leonardo Hotel in the social networks, the district office justified this decision. The authority sees no other option than a ban on gatherings to ensure the safety of Freital residents and the residents of the initial reception facility.

Right-wing extremist groups from the area of ​​the "vigilante" had also announced an event at the Leonardo Hotel. A performance by the band " A3stus " was planned. There were legal proceedings against its members for sedition . On July 29, 2015 the registration was completely withdrawn and instead a “ torchlight march ” in the direction of the asylum accommodation was announced on the Facebook page “Sachsen wach auf” . This was also later canceled.

Before the demonstration, the “FTL vigilante group” and the “Freital Resistance” group had mobilized to counter rallies on social media. According to the Saxon newspaper, “Die Linken” supposedly want “to put all bars, banks and hairdresser shops [sic] to rubble and ashes”. At noon, small groups from the “FTL vigilante group” gathered in front of a bar across from the Potschappel train station .

The demonstration could take place thanks to a large police presence. Citizens of Freital harassed some of the participants. "The fact that such a police presence has to protect a peaceful anti-racist demonstration shows the problems that exist in Saxony," said a spokesman at the demonstration. More than 340 police officers from Saxony, Thuringia , Brandenburg and the federal police were on duty.

On Saturday, September 19, 2015, the windows in the local office of the party Die Linke were blown up with firecrackers. The police could not find any perpetrators. Between October 2 and October 3, unknown persons entered the premises and destroyed parts of the facility, and the police opened an investigation.

On November 5, several apartments were searched in Dresden and Freital and four people were arrested. The occasion was explosives and butyric acid attacks, among other things, on a refugee accommodation in Freital, which previously injured a Syrian refugee in the face. The aim of the police operation, during which explosives and a swastika flag were also seized, was the “FTL / 360 vigilante group”. In November, the Attorney General brought charges.

On the night of December 18, 2015, xenophobic slogans were smeared on houses in several places in Freital. Among them were inscriptions such as “Freital remains German”, “No Asyl” and the threats “Rumberg kill” and “Richter raus du ZIOT”. The threats are directed against the mayor of Freitals Uwe Rumberg (CDU) and the left city councilor Michael Richter. The police in Saxony started investigations into the use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations in connection with incitement to criminal offenses.

Counter-demonstrations and solidarity with the refugees

At first, the demonstrations against the xenophobic protests were not very well attended. Later, around 200 people positioned themselves in front of the accommodation in order to prevent the attacks they feared by around 80 asylum opponents.

According to Zeit, counter-demonstrators report hunting scenes with baseball bats, flat car tires and people injured by throwing bottles. On the night of June 24-25, 2015, right-wing extremists pushed a car off the street at a petrol station and smashed the windows with baseball bats, suspecting supporters of refugees in it. The operational defense center of the police investigated on suspicion of dangerous bodily harm against several people, some of whom belong to the "vigilante FTL / 360". Following information from the activists, the suspects' vehicle was quickly located and checked by the police. "A politically motivated act cannot be ruled out," reported the Sächsische Zeitung. This was confirmed in the aftermath of the event.

City councilor Ines Kummer (Greens) claimed to have filed criminal charges against several Internet users who published comments in the Facebook group “Freital defends itself”. She was massively threatened there, she told the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk .

Reactions

Local politics positioned itself ambiguously. The attitude of the newly elected Lord Mayor Uwe Rumberg ( CDU ), who questioned the refugees' willingness to integrate and the need for help in connection with the protests , caused criticism . He compared some asylum seekers with "lucky knights who come to Germany to lead a carefree life without compensation at the expense of the community". During the election campaign he had already called for “sanctions against rioting and violent asylum seekers” and for limits to the welcoming culture.

On June 26th, Saxony's Prime Minister Stanislaw Tillich (CDU) came to Freital for a tour of the accommodation and a conversation with local politicians. He said that the "enormous influx" of refugees was a challenge, but that "threats, incitement and violence" against those who campaigned for refugees were completely unacceptable. Tillich admitted errors in communication with the responsible authorities, but he did not seek dialogue with activists.

Federal Minister of Justice Heiko Maas (SPD) warned: "Appeals for violence against refugees are completely unacceptable." The Federal Government's Migration Commissioner, Aydan Özoğuz (SPD), called the situation in Freital "extremely worrying".

Frank Richter, director of the Saxon State Center for Civic Education , said after the citizens' meeting on July 6, 2015 about the blatant xenophobes, they had to be "identified, isolated and ostracized".

See also

Web links

Commons : Xenophobic protests in Freital  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Asylum forum in Freital canceled. In: Saxon newspaper . March 11, 2015, accessed July 8, 2015 .
  2. ^ Suspicion of right-wing terrorism against the Freital vigilante group. In: www.tagesspiegel.de. Retrieved April 25, 2016 .
  3. ↑ a b Terrorist "Freital Group" is charged. In: sueddeutsche.de . November 8, 2016. Retrieved November 8, 2016 .
  4. ↑ Thomas Datt: "The stages of escalation against asylum seekers in Freital." Article by the MDR magazine Exakt ( contribution as a video on YouTube ).
  5. ↑ a b Michael Bergmann, Natalja Meyer: Guest of Freitalern. In: Jungle World . June 11, 2015, accessed July 27, 2015 .
  6. ↑ Mandy Schaks: Dangerous bus ride. In: Saxon newspaper. April 17, 2015, accessed July 27, 2015 .
  7. ↑ a b Andrea Schawe: Police investigate against vigilante groups. July 11, 2015, accessed July 27, 2015 .
  8. ↑ https://www.radiodresden.de/nachrichten/lokalnachrichten/weiter-razzia-gegen-rechtsextreme-buergerwehr-ftl360-in-freital-1208443/
  9. ↑ http://www.bild.de/regional/dresden/razzia/sprengstoff-trazzia-bei-freitaler-bomber-nazis-44884252.bild.html
  10. ↑ http://www.bild.de/news/inland/fluechtlingskrise-in-deutschland/gewaltreport-sachsen-44666774.bild.html
  11. ↑ http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/blog-perlen-aus-freital-morddrohung-gegen-fluechtlingsaktivisten/12048210.html
  12. ↑ http://www.sz-online.de/nachrichten/polizei-ermittelt-gegen-buergerwehr-3146711.html
  13. ↑ Jonas Jansen: Perlen from Freital: Tumblr collects racist comments. In: FAZ.net . July 8, 2015, accessed July 27, 2015 .
  14. ↑ Report by Spiegel TV magazine from June 28, 2015 ( contribution as video on YouTube)
  15. ^ Riots at the citizens' meeting in Freital. (No longer available online.) In: mdr.de. July 7, 2015, archived from the original on August 11, 2015 ; accessed on July 27, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mdr.de
  16. ↑ Explosives attack on left-wing politicians: A city council's car explodes in Freital in Saxony. In: Focus Online . July 27, 2015, accessed July 27, 2015 .
  17. ↑ http://www.sz-online.de/nachrichten/mehr-als-500-demonstrieren-gegen-rassismus-3163143.html
  18. ↑ https://mopo24.de/nachrichten/anschlag-auf-linke-buero-in-freital-14302 ( Memento of the original from October 5, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / mopo24.de
  19. ^ Another attack on the left office in Freital. (No longer available online.) In: MOPO24. Archived from the original on September 22, 2015 ; Retrieved October 3, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / mopo24.de
  20. ^ Saxony: Raid against right-wing group in Freital. In: sueddeutsche.de . November 5, 2015, accessed November 8, 2015 .
  21. ^ Freital: Police arrest right-wing extremists in Saxony. In: zeit.de . November 5, 2015, accessed November 8, 2015 .
  22. ^ After racist attacks: raid on rights in Saxony. In: taz.de . November 5, 2015, accessed November 8, 2015 .
  23. ↑ http://www.dnn.de/Mitteldeutschland/Polizeiticker-Mitteldeutschland/Freital-Schmierereien-und-Morddrohung-gegen-Buergermeister
  24. ^ Matthias Meisner: Racism organizes itself - but also its opponents. In: tagesspiegel.de. July 10, 2015, accessed July 27, 2015 .
  25. ^ Calls on the Internet for actions against refugee homes. In: MDR magazine fact . July 8, 2015, accessed July 27, 2015 .
  26. ^ Matthias Meisner: Pegida, Freital, Meißen ... and the CDU. Something is wrong in Saxony. In: tagesspiegel.de . June 29, 2015, accessed July 1, 2015 .
  27. ↑ Matthias Meisner: "Comparisons with Hoyerswerda are appropriate". In: tagesspiegel.de . June 23, 2015, accessed July 3, 2015 .
  28. ^ Freital: Again protests against the refugee home. In: sueddeutsche.de . June 24, 2015, accessed July 3, 2015 .
  29. ↑ Ulrike Nimz, Cornelius Pollmer: Where hatred rules. In: sueddeutsche.de. June 25, 2015, accessed July 27, 2015 .
  30. ↑ Cornelius Pollmer: Freital: appearance of the mobbing foam mouths. In: sueddeutsche.de. July 7, 2015, accessed July 8, 2015 .