Turkey awaits justice for neo-Nazi group victims: Envoy

BERLIN - Anadolu Agency

Turkey has called for justice for the victims of the National Socialist Underground (NSU) ahead of a verdict in a major trial that revealed “institutional racism” in Germany.

“We hope that the result of the NSU trial would meet the expectations of all who want an end to such racist and xenophobic murders, and demand a fair decision that would satisfy people’s conscience,” Turkish Ambassador Ali Kemal Aydın told state-run Anadolu Agency on July 8.

“We want to trust the German justice system,” he added. 

The neo-Nazi group NSU killed eight Turkish immigrants, a Greek citizen and a German policewoman between 2000 and 2007 — but the murders remained long unsolved, although the suspects were under the radar of a German intelligence agency since the late 1990s.

After a five-year-long trial of the suspects, the NSU’s last surviving member Beate Zschaepe and four suspected accomplices, the Higher Regional Court in Munich is set to deliver its ruling on July 11.

Aydın underlined that families of the victims, their lawyers and many experts still believe that the NSU was not a three-member group, but had ties to a larger network of far-right extremists.

“Many questions still remain unanswered,” he said, referring to speculations of a possible role or involvement of security or intelligence officials.

Aydın said the court’s ruling would also be significant for future efforts to uncover facts about the NSU, its motivations and possible links.