Compiled by Ana Ferreira
NEWS FROM BERLIN
Terror against left-wing house project in Berlin
A bomb threat was received against the left-wing house project “Jagow15” in Berlin-Spandau on Wednesday night. However, nothing suspicious was found. That house project has been terrorised for several weeks, the residents suspect a right-wing extremist background. On the night of 10 April, bulky waste was set on fire in the passageway. On 18 April two vehicles were set on fire in the courtyard and on 21 April there was a bomb threat. Prior to this, Nazi slogans like ‘Arbeit macht Frei’ (Work releases you) were smeared on the facade. Residents were also threatened and physically attacked. Source: nd
NEWS FROM GERMANY
FBI spied on Rudi Dutschke
From 1967 onwards, the FBI spied on student leader Rudi Dutschke to prevent him from moving to the USA. Now the files are partly public. Those files are about 300 pages long and cover six years – from January 1967 to June 1973. Many names are blacked out, with many crucial documents redacted. In deleting the names, the FBI took great care. Even in a Spiegel article translated into English from May 1968, the names were made unrecognisable. “Red Rudi” was considered a danger, and not granted to a visa to travel to the USA until his death in 1979. Source: taz
Writer of NSU 2.0 letters arrested, but questions remain
There are two pieces of good news about “NSU 2.0”. Firstly, the writer of the threatening letters has presumably been identified and arrested. It is a 53-year-old right-wing extremist unemployed man from Berlin. And, more importantly, the man seems not to be part of a right-wing extremist network in the police – although he was able to use information from police computers on several occasions. Still, there is no reason to sound the all-clear. How can it be that a right-wing extremist obtained sensitive personal data? Even if the police officers who provided the information were not accomplices, this still can be understood as threatening. Source: taz
Cabinet approves relaxations for vaccinated people
The Federal Cabinet has approved the planned relaxation of the Corona rules for people who have been vaccinated or are in convalescence. The Bundestag and Bundesrat still must agree. According to the proposal, vaccinated and recovered persons should no longer need a negative test when they want to go shopping or to the hairdresser, for example. However, the obligation to wear a mask in certain places and the distance requirement in public spaces will continue to apply. Several federal states have already implemented parts of this new regulation and put vaccinated people on an equal footing with those who have tested negative. Source: dw
Far-right crimes hit record levels in a “brutalized” Germany
Almost 24,000 far-right crimes last year were recorded in 2020 in Germany. It is the highest level since records began. Germany’s interior minister said this points to a “brutalisation” of society in the country and poses the biggest threat to the country’s stability. Authorities have also raised concerns about the role the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party allegedly played in stoking a climate of resentment toward immigrants and the government. The party, which came third in Germany’s 2017 election, has moved steadily to the right in recent years, drawing increasing scrutiny from the country’s domestic intelligence agency. Source: guardian
