Germany’s Interior Ministry had outstanding arrest warrants for 189 suspects deemed to be members of far-right groups that do not recognize the modern German state, media group RND reported on Thursday.
According to authorities, the suspects were members of the “Reichsbürger” (“citizens of the Empire”) or “Selbstwerwalter” (“self-administrators”) groups, which were part of the defunct German Empire or claims to live on land declared by the government. independence within Germany.
The figures were published on September 30, 2024, in response to a parliamentary request for information from the Socialist Left Party.
Why are those suspects wanted?
A total of 254 arrest warrants have been issued for these suspects, with some facing multiple warrants, the department said.
Forty-three people were wanted for at least one violent crime, and three people were charged with multiple violent crimes.
According to the department, 20 of the warrants were for violent political crimes, and the remaining 77 were for politically motivated non-violent crimes such as forgery, coercion and inciting racial violence.
The agency classified the remaining warrants as being in the “area of non-politically motivated general crimes.”
German authorities believe that more than 20 of the people being searched live abroad. Some have been on the run for years.
According to the data, between the end of March and September last year, 93 new warrants of this kind were issued for “Reichsbürger” or “Selbstwerwalter”.
What are Reichsbürger and Selbstwerwalter?
“Reichsbürger” usually denies the legitimacy and existence of the modern German state and the dissolution of the defunct German Empire in 1918.
According to the Interior Ministry, their ideas about what and where the German state is are “directly opposed to the territorial integrity of neighboring countries and to efforts towards understanding between them.”
The ministry said anti-Semitism is often part of the ideology of some of its members, which in some cases includes positions such as Holocaust denial.
Members of the other group, “Selbstverwalter”, claim to view their legal position in Germany similarly, but instead have unilaterally declared their property sovereignty and independence. The argument is based on the following.
“By his actions, Mr. Selbstoffelwalter wants above all to resist the payment of taxes and other demands, such as garnishments,” the ministry said.
Multiple trials are underway across the country related to a group of Reichsbürger suspects accused of planning a violent overthrow of the government.
The most prominent defendant is Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss, a descendant of German aristocrats who was born a civilian in 1951. The group is accused of plotting to install him as a future head of state.
