Germany arrests 25 suspected of far-right plot to overthrow state

BERLIN: Twenty-five alleged members and supporters of a far-right terrorist group suspected of aiming to overthrow the German state were detained early on Wednesday during raids across Germany, the federal prosecutor’s office said.

One active soldier and several reservists are among those being investigated, a spokesperson for the military intelligence service (BAMAD) told Reuters. The active soldier is a member of the Special Forces Command, it said.

The suspects are accused of preparing, since the end of November 2021 at the latest, to carry out actions based on their ideology, according to the office. These actions include procuring equipment, recruiting new members and holding shooting lessons, it added.

The focus of the recruitment efforts were primarily members of the military and police officers, the office said.

The raids were conducted by more than 3,000 police officials and security forces across 11 German federal states, the prosecutors said in the statement.

Suspects were arrested in the German states of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Saxony, Thuringia as well as in Austria and Italy, said the office.

The BAMAD said it had worked with the prosecutors on their investigation and shared information with the domestic intelligence service and federal criminal investigators in the run up to Wednesday’s raids.