German police arrest 9 people during neo-Nazi party raid

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) - German police on Thursday arrested nine people during a raid on the far-right Third Way party in Berlin and the eastern states of Brandenburg and Saxony, according to local media reports.

The suspects, aged 17 to 21, are said to belong to the so-called National Revolutionary Youth Revolutionaries (NRJ), the Third Way youth organization. They are said to have been involved in brutal attacks on political opponents in January and July, according to police and public prosecutors in Berlin.

The Berlin-based Tagesspiegel newspaper reported that authorities said 10 properties were searched as some 130 police officers took part in Thursday's raids.

All suspects were found and all search warrants were carried out in Berlin, Brandenburg and Saxony. Mobile devices, digital storage media, clothing, a vehicle and dangerous items such as blank guns, striking tools, gloves and electric shockers were seized. Propaganda material was also found.

According to the secret service of the state of Berlin (Office for the Protection of the Constitution), the Third Way party is “the most active group within traditional right-wing extremism” in the capital.

It openly represents neo-Nazi and anti-migrant positions and is a refuge for “action-oriented right-wing extremists,” the 2023 Constitutional Protection Report continues. The NRJ, which has been active since 2021, organizes “high-profile actions” against refugees, among others.

The suspects who have now been arrested are specifically accused of being involved in a July 6th attack at a local Berlin train station.

Ten to 15 masked men, some armed with brass knuckles and batons, are said to have attacked five people aged 15, 32 and 39. According to information from the daily Welt newspaper, the victims were scheduled to meet at the train station to travel together for a demonstration against the far-right.

When two federal police officers intervened, they were also attacked, according to the authorities. Several of those attacked were injured and required treatment. The suspects, who initially fled unrecognized, were later identified, it said.

The suspects are also accused of participating in a robbery in January. A 20-year-old man in Berlin’s Prenzlauer Berg district is said to have been attacked and robbed by six to seven young people and adolescents for political reasons. According to police at the time, a victim was punched in the face and kicked in the legs.

The latest police sweep comes in the wake of Tuesday decision by the German Interior Ministry to ban the right-wing extremist Compact magazine.

Authorities searched properties related to the magazine in four German states - Brandenburg, Hesse, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. The aim of the raid was to confiscate assets and evidence, the ministry said.

The ban also applies to Compact's subsidiary Conspect Film, and prohibits any continuation of previous activities.