A-Infos (en) Police Raids Against German Anti-Fascists

[Arm The Spirit <ats@locust.etext.org>]

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Police Raids Against German Anti-Fascists

Press Release
Hamburg - May 12, 1998

     This morning, the homes of anti-fascists and their parents
all across Germany were raided by Bavarian criminal investigators
and various other police authorities. This state repression is
aimed against the alleged formation of a "criminal organization"
under Paragraph 129 of the German Criminal Code. This alleged
criminal organization is "Antifa Passau", formed in 1993. By
utilizing Paragraph 129, authorities are trying to criminalize
and contain anti-fascist politics.
     Police searched homes in Berlin, Hamburg, Gottingen, Passau,
Munich, Nuremburg, Bielefeld, and Muhldorf. During the raids,
computers, disks, leaflets, and even personal items, especially
day planners and letters, were confiscated by police. Several
people were briefly detained, and many were filmed and
photographed by the police.
     According to the search warrants issued for the raids, 39
people are being investigated, with Munich's state attorney
saying that 28 are to be charged with crimes. These people are
alleged to have committed more than 100 "criminal acts" since
1993, "directed against the public events of their political
opponents, state institutions, and the city of Passau".
     In Hamburg, joint raids were conducted by Hamburg and
Bavarian state police, accompanied by riot police, against the
private homes of four anti-fascists. One of these searches was
conducted without a warrant.
     This nationwide act of state repression is the latest in a
series of criminalization attempts aimed at the anti-fascist
resistance, for example the proceedings against 17 members of
Autonome Antifa (M) in Gottingen. This latest political construct
of the authorities is being conducted under the pretext of
solving "crimes". But the main aim is to disrupt and contain
anti-fascist groups. The fact that the state authorities say that
there are "direct ties between autonomist scenes in various
cities" reveals that the real aim behind these raids is to
criminalize, in particular, the group Anti-Fascist
Action/Nationwide Organization (AA/BO).
     This repression is even more grotesque when set against the
background of the recent surge in fascist electoral success and
public rallies in East Germany and the necessity of developing
anti-fascist resistance. In Passau in particular, the main
activity of local anti-fascists has been organizing resistance to
the annual major meeting of the DVU [far-right party, German
People's Union] and the NPD [far-right party, National Party of
Germany] election congress on February 7 of this year.
 
Anti-Fascist Group Hamburg (AGH)
organized in the AA/BO

Address: Brigittenstrasse 5, 20359 Hamburg
Fax: 040-43189038

(Translated by Arm The Spirit from
http://www.nadir.org/nadir/aktuell/)

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