Free-Time Terrorists
August 2, 2007
Three men arrested in eastern Germany earlier this week are suspected of membership in a terrorist organization, the federal prosecutor's office in Karlsruhe said on Thursday. The men were caught while attempting to set fire to three Bundeswehr army trucks early Tuesday in Brandenburg.
Police officers were able to remove the incendiary devices in time, so that the trucks didn't catch fire.
According to the prosecutor, the attempted arson attack showed a multitude of parallels to other acts of violence in the past by an extreme leftist organization calling itself "militant group (mg)."
The Federal Court of Justice has issued arrest warrants for the three men and a fourth suspect accused of being a member in mg. The four men between the ages of 35 and 46 are all German nationals and live in Berlin, the prosecutor said in a statement.
The Federal Criminal Police Office will be conducting the further investigation. If tried and found guilty of belonging to a terrorist organization, the men could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Group aims to set up communist world order
Mg is one of the most active leftist groups in Germany. It has claimed responsibility for over two dozen attacks since it first surfaced in 2001, mainly in the Berlin area.
"The professed goal of the group is to remove current state and social structures in favor of a communist world order through constant militant actions," the prosecutor said. In 2006 alone, mg was responsible for eight attacks, including one on the police headquarters in Berlin's Tempelhof district.
Prior to the G8 summit in Heiligendamm in June, the prosecutor had investigated several mg members and searched their apartments, but found no evidence to use against them.
Attacks by mg usually involve arson against the police, the judicial system and other public facilities. People are not intended to be injured. The acts are followed by long letters claiming responsibility. Investigators assume mg members are so-called "leisure-time terrorists," who hide behind a legal existence.