Explosives found in the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district

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When explosives were found in the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district in March 2018, the explosive erythritol tetranitrate as well as aids and large quantities of substances for building bombs were found in two people in Thuringia .

The case caused a stir because one of the two men belonged to the left scene and was previously a spokesman for an anti- right alliance. In May 2018, the Thuringia State Criminal Police Office stated that , according to the latest findings, a political background could probably be completely ruled out. The MDR quoted in August 2018 from an internal final report of the LKA: "The investigations did not reveal any evidence that the accused were politically motivated." The head of the Gera public prosecutor confirmed to the dpa that the men, according to the investigations, were not extremist or terrorist attack planned.

In February 2019, the public prosecutor concluded the investigation. The two men were later fined for “handling explosive substances in two cases” .

Suspects and Investigations

On March 13, 2018, two suspects aged 25 and 31 were arrested, several apartments in Rudolstadt and Uhlstädt-Kirchhasel were examined and 12 kilograms of chemicals that could be used to manufacture explosives were found, magnesium and sulfur powder , acetone , hydrogen peroxide , potassium nitrate , Calcium carbide and 75 kg of nitrogen fertilizer . 2,3 kilograms of explosives ( erythritol ), a trolley , of the components for the preparation of TATP contained, a blank-firing gun and a cannabis -Aufzuchtanlage were discovered. In addition to the chemicals mentioned, several bottles of butyric acid were found. This is also used by left and right activists in politically motivated attacks.

The suspects are charged with preparing an explosion crime. They denied possible attack plans, but admitted the production of bomb material and the storage of chemicals. They were released again. The witness who provided the information about the suspects was temporarily placed under police protection.

The 25-year-old suspect had repeatedly appeared for violent, property and drug offenses. The 31-year-old suspect is a warehouse clerk and has been in a wheelchair since an accident. He was the spokesman for the Alliance for Civil Courage and Human Rights, for which he received the Thuringian Democracy Prize 2016 on behalf of the red-red-green state government . The group distanced themselves from the suspect. The mention of the suspect as spokesman on the group's website was removed on the evening of March 14th.

The Thuringia State Criminal Police Office declared on March 15 that it was not responsible for the investigation because there were "no signs of a political background". The state chairman of the Thuringian CDU, Mike Mohring , criticized this decision: “It is adventurous that a politically extremely active local actor should not have a political background.” He claimed that political pressure was being exerted. On March 17th, the State Criminal Police Office took over the investigation. The Thuringian Minister of the Interior Georg Maier rejected the allegations and said that the State Criminal Police Office had been involved in the investigations and the house searches from the start. The state security is also involved in the investigation. The opposition in Parliament also dealt with the Left Party -Abgeordneten Katharina König-Preuss , who knows one of the suspects in person. König-Preuss commented that the case had shocked her, the use of force "completely contradicts my ideas of living together".

In an article in the Thüringer Allgemeine on May 17, 2018, the 25-year-old suspect David G. stated that he was politically “right-wing or rather neutral” and voted for AfD . He met his friend and alleged accomplice at parties. After he told him about his passion for building firecrackers , they carried out test explosions together at night in lonely areas. When the explosives were made in his kitchen, his friend was not there because the toxic fumes could have endangered his health. David G. explained the large quantities of explosives seized by saying that the material was cheap on the Internet and that he was concerned that its purchase could be restricted. His friend ordered explosive substances twice, “but only because I ran out of money”. As early as March, in a report by the taz, a mutual acquaintance of the two described a political background as “absurd”. David G. is a “typical carnival fascist” with a tendency to brag, while his friend is “a bourgeois guy (...) in a bourgeois alliance” who is unsuitable for building bombs because of his fine motor skills ; he could "hardly roll a cigarette himself".

In a final report available to the MDR, the investigators of the LKA Laboratory found no evidence that either of the accused "wanted to use the seized explosives and chemicals with the intention of injuring people or causing significant property damage". In addition, there were no indications of “the preparation or planning of a crime”. The motivation of the two men said: "The manufacture, handling and detonation of the explosive devices served the accused to satisfy their subjective affinity for explosives and pyrotechnics."

Debate in the state parliament

The CDU demanded clarification about the course of the investigation and the extent to which state security was involved in the investigation. On March 20, the matter was debated in the current hour in the Thuringian state parliament after the opposition factions CDU and AfD had submitted an urgency request. Mike Mohring said that if explosives had been found in neo-Nazis , the outcry would have been much greater. One should not be blind in either the right or the left eye. AFD called for the introduction of extremism clause , after the initiatives against right up to by signing free democratic basic order would have to confess to obtain financial support.

According to State Interior Minister Georg Maier , he announced that the case would be dealt with in the Interior Committee. Maier also announced that the evaluation of the accused's cell phone data had revealed evidence of further criminal offenses, but no attack plans. Maier also warned against condemning the alliance and other associations across the board as violent criminals, and pointed out that their volunteers make an important contribution to integration, political education and against xenophobia. The opposition parties in the state parliament accused the red-red-green state government of not sufficiently investigating in all directions. The Prime Minister of Thuringia, Bodo Ramelow , accused the AfD of staging an "ideological-political battle" while disregarding the facts.

In total, the case was discussed eight times in the Thuringian state parliament at the instigation of the CDU and AfD, four times in the secret interior committee.

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ a b Rudolstadt bomb discovery: allegations of left-wing extremism can hardly be held . In: Thüringen24. 17th May 2018
  2. ^ A b Axel Hemmerling & Ludwig Kendzia: Kirchhasel bomb maker without a political background . In: MDR Thuringia . 29th August 2018
  3. ^ Explosives found in East Thuringia: LKA rules out political motive . In: Ostthüringer Zeitung . 29th August 2018
  4. ↑ a b Matern Boeselager: What happens when a left and a right build bombs together . In: Vice . April 26, 2019
  5. ↑ a b Fabian Klaus: The most important questions and answers about the explosives find in Rudolstadt. In: Thuringian General . March 20, 2018, accessed April 3, 2018 .
  6. ^ Explosives found in Thuringia: LKA and state security determine . In: Berliner Morgenpost . 20th March 2018
  7. ↑ a b LKA pulls investigations into explosives find . In: MDR . 17th March 2018
  8. ↑ a b c d Helmar Büchel & Claus Christian Malzahn : Explosives affair in Thuringia: The accused is “not a blank slate” . In: The world . March 25, 2018.
  9. ↑ The most important questions and answers about the explosives find in Rudolstadt . In: Thuringian General . 20th March 2018
  10. ↑ Matthias Meisner : Heated debate in Thuringia: Police find explosives in left activists . In: Der Tagesspiegel . 19th March 2018
  11. ↑ Explosives found at Antifa: Thuringian LKA takes over the investigation . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . 17th March 2018
  12. ↑ Antifa scene in Thuringia: LKA determined after finding explosives . In: Spiegel Online . 17th March 2018
  13. ↑ CDU: Explosives find in Rudolstadt raises questions . In: Thuringian General . March 16, 2018
  14. ^ Explosives found: So far no political background . In: The world . 15th March 2018
  15. ↑ Jonas Hermann: Police find explosives in the left-wing scene - state government of Thuringia under pressure . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . 18th March 2018
  16. ↑ a b Ulrike Nimz: Thuringia - Discussion about explosives discovery. In: sueddeutsche.de . March 20, 2018, accessed April 3, 2018 .
  17. ^ Explosives found in Thuringia: LKA and state security determine . In: WAZ . 20th March 2018
  18. ↑ Helmar Büchel & Claus Christian Malzahn : Thuringia: explosives found in the anti-fascist scene - state government under pressure . In: The world . 17th March 2018
  19. ↑ Frank Schauka: The bomb builders of Rudolstadt - “There are definitely more of us” . In: Thuringian General . 17th May 2018
  20. ↑ Sarah Ulrich: After the explosives found in Thuringia: The spark in the village . In: the daily newspaper . 23 March 2018
  21. ^ Thuringian LKA determined after finding explosives . In: Hannoversche Allgemeine . 17th March 2018
  22. ↑ Sarah Ulrich: Discussion in the Thuringian Parliament: Sprengstoff-Fund becomes the topic . In: the daily newspaper . 20th March 2018
  23. ↑ Sarah Ulrich: Thuringia: How political is the explosives? In: today . 20th March 2018