UPDATES WITH COMMENTS FROM INTERIOR MINISTER FAESER, ADDS MORE DETAILS
By Anadolu staff
BERLIN (AA) - German police carried out large-scale raids on several Muslim associations affiliated with the Iranian regime, authorities said on Thursday.
The raids were carried out as part of an investigation into the activities of the Islamic Center in Hamburg (IZH) and five other groups which were allegedly carrying out activities against the constitutional order in Germany, said the Interior Ministry.
“In order to further clarify this suspicion and to secure evidence, a total of 54 properties in seven federal states have been searched since 6 a.m. on the orders of the responsible administrative courts,” said a ministry statement.
Security authorities were also investigating allegations that the IZH supports the activities of Lebanese Hezbollah, the ministry said, adding that the group was classified as a terrorist organization and its activities were banned in Germany.
The ministry claimed the activities of the IZH were aimed at spreading the revolutionary ideology of the Iranian regime, and said the group had great influence, or complete control, on several associations and mosques across the country.
The raids were carried out in Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Hesse, Baden-Wurttemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, and North Rhine-Westphalia.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said authorities will not tolerate any antisemitic or anti-Israel incitement in Germany amid escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
“Especially now it is important to be highly vigilant and take tough action. That’s why we investigate every justified suspicion decisively,” she said in a statement.
Since the conflict between Israel and Hamas escalated last month, Berlin has repeatedly said that Israel has a right to self-defense and that it will stand in solidarity with the Israelis.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly warned Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah not to intervene in the conflict and trigger wider instability in the region.
Authorities have so far banned dozens of planned pro-Palestinian demonstrations, claiming that these gatherings were likely to lead to public incitement to hatred as well as antisemitic and anti-Israel statements.
Germany says it bears a historical responsibility for the security of Israel due to the country’s Nazi past and crimes committed against Jews during World War II.
But critics accuse the government of double standards, saying Germany championed human rights causes and stood with Ukraine against Russia, but it is now turning a blind eye to the Israeli military’s “war crimes” in Gaza.