German ombudswoman seeks deeper probe into NSU murders

By Erbil Basay

BERLIN (AA) - Germany’s ombudswoman for the victims of a far-right murder spree spanning several years has called for a deeper investigation into the 10 killings carried out by members of the neo-Nazi National Socialist Underground (NSU).

“We are still left with a very thick layer, we have to dig deeper to uncover the truth,” Barbara John told Anadolu Agency in an interview.

The NSU killed 10 people including eight Turkish and one Greek immigrant between 2000 and 2007, but the group’s ultimate goals and ties remain unclear.

John said the terrorist group must have enjoyed wider support than that uncovered by federal prosecutors.

“For their attacks, the NSU members chose uncrowded places, where they could easily run away. They needed help from their supporters to identify these places. We still do not know who these people were, who supported them,” she said.

The NSU carried out murders, bomb attacks and robberies in 12 different German cities over seven years.

Federal prosecutors so far claimed the NSU consisted of only three right-wing extremists -- Uwe Mundlos, Uwe Bohnhardt and Beate Zschaepe -- and they were supported by four other people.

The NSU was only revealed in 2011 when two members -- Mundlos and Bohnhardt -- died after an unsuccessful bank robbery. Police found guns and propaganda material in their apartment.

Zschaepe is currently standing trial for her alleged role in the murders.

John said although German lawmakers so far founded several investigation committees in the federal and state parliaments, they had not achieved much progress in their efforts to shed light on the NSU and its murders.

The ombudswoman said she was not optimistic about these political efforts, but urged civil society organizations to take a more active role.

“People should continue their efforts. One day, somebody could stand up and tell what he or she had seen, or what he or she does not want to keep secret anymore,” she said.

John said there was a need to create a foundation for the victims of all right-wing crimes in Germany, and she would continue to seek support for this initiative.

The NSU is believed to have been founded by Mundlos, Bohnhardt and Zschaepe; the trio lived underground from 1998 with fake identities.

Since the late 1990s, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, or BfV, recruited various informants from the right-wing scene who were believed to have had contacts with the three extremists.

But the agency failed to prevent the murders or arrest the suspects.

Until 2011, German police and intelligence services dismissed any racial motive for the murders and instead treated immigrant families as suspects with alleged connections to mafia groups and drug traffickers.