Author Archives: Egri Nök

Oktoberfest: Dramatic Drop in Visitors

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An original translation from German news magazine Focus.

Oktoberfest Munich
Disastrous Stats: This is the bitter balance of ‘Wiesn’ 2016
07.09.2017

The city of Munich has announced the accounting for the Oktoberfest 2016 in a statistics publication. Visitors, beer, bratwurst – there was a strong decline just everywhere.

Only 5.6 million visitors came to the largest volksfest in the world. A record low of the last 16 years. Affairs were bleak for the Wiesn-Innkeepers, too: only 66.231 hectolitres beer were drunk in 2016, 15 percent less than in previous years.
Bratwurst sales dropped from more than 500,000 to less than 300, 000.
Innkeeper Speaker Toni Roiderer cites the bad weather at the start of the Wiesn, and the fear of terror as reasons for the decrease.
But there is good news, too
But there is good news, too: The number of crimes and the number of rescue missions by paramedics and firefighters sunk, compared to previous years. And the number of crimes reported sunk by 25%, compared to the last five years. There were 15% fewer “drunken bodies” than in previous years.

Suspicious locals getting examined at the Oktoberfest gates. Why would a little control, a fence, and a bit of a terror alert, put anyone off from having fun, anyway? (photo: Merkur/Schlaf)

 

Germany: Trial Of ‘Unaccompanied Minor’ Who Murdered Maria L. Starts Today

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Freiburg: Today is the first day of the trial of the ‘unaccompanied minor’ refugee Hussein Khavari, who raped and drowned the medical student Maria Ladenburger on October 16, 2016. Some parts of today’s hearings will be in closed session.

People queuing in front of the court  this morning

From Die Welt:
Audience is Queuing – Hussein K. Announces Statement

Surprise in the trial of the murder of the student Maria L. in Freiburg: the plaintiff announced a statement. Meanwhile, there were protests in front of the District Court, and viewers were standing in queues.

The death of Maria L. shook the nation: in October, she was raped and left to die in the littoral zone of the river Dreisam. Now, the murder trial in Freiburg is starting with a surprise: after the suspect, Hussein K., did not even give details about his person for months, he now suddenly announced a statement.

The young man appears tired and indifferent in front of the court on Tuesday morning. His attorney says that he took a sedative before the hearing started. Nonetheless, he were ready to answer the court’s questions.

The public interest in the trial is enormous: the trial began under strict security measures. People had been queuing in front of the District Court as early as two hours before the hearing.

In sight distance of the court, according to police, about ten people close to the AfD were protesting with banners („Protect Borders – Save Lives“). They had announced their protest on the Augustiner square. 50 left-wingers showed up for a counter protest that had been organized on the internet. Both groups were yelling slogans, the police did not have to intervene, it was announced. The protests ended at around 10:30.

Defendant’s Identity is still unclear
The hearings are closed to the public in parts. The chief judge decided that the audience has to leave the room when the defendant provides information about his sexual biography. Further details about the defendant though are discussed in public.

At the beginning of the hearing, the prosecutor describes a cruel acting of Hussein K.: according to this, the defendant ambushed the 19-year-old shortly before 3 AM in the night – the student was on her way home from a party. Hussein K. allegedly pulled her from her bike, bit her three times in the head and chest, and undressed her. Then he choked her and raped her brutally.
Subsequently, he placed the unconscious woman in the river Dreisam – according to the prosecutor, he had wanted her to drown. Additionally, the water was supposed to obliterate traces.

K. was arrested in December 2016. His identity still remains unclear. While Hussein says that he is 19, prosecution estimate him at least at 22. Two age evaluations are supposed to underpin this during the trial. According to the court, the defendant was born in Iran – until now, it had been announced that he came from Afghanistan.

Because of the doubts about his age, the hearing is at the court’s juvenile division. If he is found guilty, the court can judge according to adult criminal law though.

A Previous Attempted Murder
After K.’s arrest it surfaced that he nearly killed a 20-year old woman in Greece, before his flight to Germany. He had been arrested, but was released in a general amnesty. He then went underground, and re-appeared, unrecognized, in 2015 in Germany, as an alleged underage refugee.

Questions about the violent deed in Greece will not be permitted in the hearings in Freiburg.

There are 16 days scheduled for the hearings. The verdict is expected not before early December. 45 witnesses and ten experts will be heard.

Berlin: Syrian ‘Unaccompanied Minor’ Arrested For Planning Terror Attack

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An original translation from Berliner Zeitung (B.Z.)

Arrest Warrant Against ISIS Sleeper
Youth Planned Terror Attack with Kalashnikov in Berlin
Berlin – September 4, 2017

A young Syrian is in court: he came to Germany to commit an attack: not an attack with knife or vehicle, but “something larger”.

The district court Halle has issued an arrest warrant in the case against a young terror suspect from Syria. The chamber substantiated this with flight risk. It stood to reason that the plaintiff, who is, according to his own statement, 16 years old, had not abandoned his attack plans, and could only put them into action by fleeing. The case was submitted to the Senate For State Security at the Supreme Court.
The case against the 16-year old was opened in Halle two weeks ago. Because of the young age of the plaintiff, the proceedings were not public. The Senate For State Security at the Higher Regional Court Berlin is in charge of terror offenses in Berlin, Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt.

Syrian Entered Germany in Autumn 2015 as Refugee
The youth is charged with preparing a severe subversive violent crime. The Syrian had entered Germany in autumn 2015 as unaccompanied minor refugee, and allegedly sympathizes with the Jihadi militia Islamic State (ISIS). The proceedings had begun in Halle end of August in closed session.

Did he plan a terror attack in Berlin as an ISIS sleeper?
The plaintiff had, according to charges, volunteered as a so-called sleeper for ISIS since he entered the Federal Republic [of Germany], by showing serious willingness to commit a terror attack in Berlin. Furthermore, he was collecting and distributing ISIS propaganda materials.

Moreover, he downloaded a 94-page manual for building a Kalashnikov from the internet to his mobile phone, with the intention to use it for an attack in Berlin.

Terror Plans: Building an Automatic Rifle, Constructing an Explosive Belt
According to investigations, he enquired in chats how to build an explosive belt without coming under suspicion.

He allegedly revealed to an informant of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution [German Intel – translator], who was working as a covert chat partner, that he did not come to Germany to live here, and neither to kill one or two people with a knife. Instead, he were planning something larger.

The Senates for State Security at the Supreme Courts are in charge of proceedings with such charges. The Senate for State Security at the Superior Court Berlin is in charge for the states Berlin, Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt.

Translator’s footnote:
German Justice Minister Heiko Maas’ famous statement of November 16, 2015 comes into mind:
“There is no connection, not a single traceable connection, between terrorism and refugees.”

Brutal Rimini Rape: Father Recognized His Sons In Police Video

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Rimini, Italy – New arrests made in last week’s brutal rape case (we reported earlier:
Police are looking for perpetrators of violent assault on Poles in Rimini, August 28; It is forbidden to say that the suspects are foreigners, August 28).

1. An original translation from German magazine Focus.
Twin Rapes in Bathing Resort Rimini:
Father Recognized His Sons in a Police Video
04.09.2017, 09:18 CET

Police have arrested four suspects after the startling twin rape in the Italian holiday resort Rimini. The father of two alleged perpetrators had recognized his sons in a search video and forced them to hand themselves in.

Police have arrested four suspects in the investigations on the twin rape in the Italian bathing resort Rimini. Three of the alleged perpetrators are minors, the fourth, a 20 year old, is the alleged main suspect. The four men are accused of having attacked a Polish couple in the early morning hours of August 26. They allegedly beat the man and brutally raped the woman. Afterwards, they allegedly raped a Peruvian transgender woman.

The two minors are brothers, according to the Italian police. According to the newspaper “Il Resto del Carlino” the father had recognized his two sons in a search video, and forced them to hand themselves in. He puts the blame for his sons’ deeds on the 20-year old: “He dragged them from one bar to the next, drank with them”, he told the newspaper. Besides, he promised them money and stolen mobile phones.

2. From Italian newspaper Il Resto Del Carlino:

Photo: Il Resto Del Carlino

Photo: Il Resto Del Carlino

Photo: Il Resto Del Carlino

Austria: A Wall is built in Vienna

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An original translation from the newspaper Kronen Zeitung, Austria.

September 2, 2017
Fear of Terror
Office of Chancellor locking up behind concrete walls

“Yes, a wall is being constructed in Vienna”, the Interior Ministry announces. It will be 80 centimetres high, one meter wide, and surround the historical Ballhausplatz. The concrete wall is meant to protect the Chancellery and the office of the president from possible terror attacks.

Construction of the wall at the Chancellery, Vienna. Photo: Kronen Zeitung, apa/bka/Andy Wenzel

“The wall is a security measurement for the protection of the government district”, speaker of the Ministry, Alexander Marakovits, explains. Until now, basically everyone could drive towards it. The one meter wide concrete wall is to make sure that no vehicle can get through in a worst-case scenario.
The building in the historical center of town is built overnight at full speed and will be finished before autumn.

Several Security Measures
The wall is just one of several measures to protect the Chancellery and the office of the president. “But certainly it is the one that will be most visible for the locals”, the announcement says. Less visible: there are bollards constructed in Herrengasse which can be raised if need be.

Cologne: Stones meant to protect from attacks
In Germany, too, important buildings are in the process of being protected from terror attacks. For example in Cologne, where stones protect the square around the city’s landmark, the cathedral. The discarded colossusses bar the access to the cathedral square. “In a way, the cathedral itself is protecting its visitors”, Cologne’s police chief Uwe Jacob said last week. The stones are parts of small towers that had been removed and stored for conservatory reasons. Additionally, a police car can serve as a mobile barrier, so that delivery vehicles and ambulances can pass through.
Maida Dedagic, Kronen Zeitung/krone.at

Cologne: Aren’t our barriers awesome? Mayor Henriette Reker dedicating old cathedral stones as barriers on August 23. Source: Twitter

Germany: 60+ Syrian Refugees In Fact Al Nusra Fighters

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An original translation from the German newspaper Merkur.

Members of Islamist Group in Germany
Report: About 60 Men From Terror Militia Came As Refugees

About 60 fighters of a Syrian Islamist Militia are residing in Germany, according to media reports. The Office For The Protection Of The Constitution [“Verfassungsschutz”, German Intelligence Service – translator] is observing the former fighters.

Liwa Owais al-Qorani car convoy, photo: Wikipedia

Hamburg – as the news magazine „Spiegel“ reports, quoting Intelligence findings, the members of the group Liwa Kwais al-Karni came to Germany as refugees. The unit initially fought on the side of the Free Syrian Army and then changed over to the Nusra Front which is close to Al-Qaeda.

According to the report, their members were involved in „several massacres of captive civilians and Syrian army“. Currently, there are investigations ongoing against 25 former fighters of the unit.

Authorities think that at least 30 more fighters of the group are residing in Germany. But many of them have not yet been identified with absolute certainty or traced down. According to information obtained by „Spiegel“, the Office For Protection Of The Constitution formed a task group on this issue.

dpa

Germany: 1-2 Million Syrians Additionally via “Family Reunification” Visas

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An original translation from Bild.

Numbers available to Bild exclusively:
390 000 Syrians to fetch their families
By Frank Solms-Laubach August 28, 2017, 11:30 PM

Syrians in Hungary, 2015

Refugee Summit in France! Monday, chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) attended the summit meeting in Paris with president Emmanuel Macron.
Joining: top politicians from Rome and Madrid, representatives of Libya, Chad, Niger – the three large African states along the migration route to Europe!
Their goal: to reduce the numbers of African migrants ont heir way to Europe by establishing refuge centers (hotspots) in the Maghreb states.
The new numbers of the familiy reunification (available exclusively to Bild) of “entitled”* refugees show just how important this is.
Fact: the amount of “Visas for Family Reunification” issued by Germany is notably rising. 230,000 applications for family reunification were granted between January 2015 and end of June 2017 world-wide via the Visa procedure.
According to intelligence sources, about 70,000 of these applications were granted in 2015; 100,000 in 2016; and 60,000 in the first half of 2017.
The large part of the visas went to Syrians and Iraqis – they received about 102,000 of the entry permits since January 2015. In 2015, it was 24,000 visas; in 2016 it was 48,000, in the first half year of 2017 it was 30,000. The prognosis for the whole year of 2017: 72,000 – a triplication!
Increase expected: The Federal Government expects a strong increase of applications for family reunification especially by Syrians. An internal document (exclusively available to Bild) says: the asylum decisions from 2015 and 2016 mean “potentially 267,500 Syrians who are eligible to fetch their families.”
But: ”From March 2018 on, this potential will increase by currently 120,000 cases.”
This means: in 2018 alone, approximately 390,000 Syrians can bring their families to us!
The fact that the number of currently 230,000 visas for family reunification is still so low, according to the paper, is due to the “flood of applications for family reunification” and the “long waiting times” at the German consulates for an appointment for a visa application of currently “up to 16 months”.
Germans are skeptical about the family reunification: according to a recent INSA-survey commissioned by Bild, 58.3 percent oppose the influx as provided for by statute, only 41.7 percent agree.

The total population of Germany is 82.67 million as of 2017.

Notes:
* The literal expression in the German original is “schutzberechtigt”, “entitled to protection”, a legal term which includes both migrants whose asylum application has been granted, as they have been found to be true refugees according to the Geneva Refugee Convention, as well as people who aren’t refugees in that sense, but who are allowed to stay, as upon return in their homecountry they might have to fear death penalty, torture, inhumane or humiliating treatment, or risk to their life or health due to an international or domestic armed conflict.

German Court Rules: Polygamy Not Against the Constitution

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An original translation from Stuttgarter Zeitung by Egri Nök.

German Top Court Decides:
German Passport And Two Wives: Both Is Permittable
By Eberhard Wein
August 27, 2017

According to the Koran, a man can marry a second woman; but in Germany, too, this is not against the constitution. At least this is what the two highest administrative law judges say. Photo: ‘Arab with Three Wives and Two Servants’, Wikimedia Commons

A Syrian, who is married to two wives, can still become a German national. The city of Karlsruhe cannot revoke his naturalization, the administative court says.

Karlsruhe – if you contract a second marriage abroad, you can still be a good and loyal citizen. This is the gist of a verdict of the administrative court (VGH) in Mannheim. The highest administrative law judges of the country repealed a contrarian decision by the administrative court Karlsruhe. The city of Karlsruhe had revoked German citizenship from a native of Syria, after it surfaced that he had married a second wife in his old homeland.
The 36 year old Kurd came to Germany in 1999, studied and became a construction engineer in 2008. He married a German that same year, and applied for German citizenship shortly thereafter. At the naturalization test, he scored 33 out of 33 possible points. He received his naturalization certificate in October 2010.

Shortly after the wedding he married a second wife
In 2010, 2013 and 2015, three children were born. But then the man recognized fatherhood for another child born in Damascus in 2012. What surfaced now led to the city of Karlsruhe revoking the naturalization. The man allegedly had married another woman in Syria, already in June 2008, only seven weeks after his marriage in Germany. The charge is that he had given incomplete information in his application.
In the verdict, the administrative court leaves open the question if the plaintiff gained naturalization by willful deceit. It is true that the application form only asked for “previous marriages” and not “additional marriages”. Still, the judges of the previous instance were not wrong to say that a second marriage should have been stated “all the more”. But at the same time, the senate does not share the administrative court’s opinion that the principle of singular marriage was part of the constitution.

Marriage saved woman from ostracism
The city of Karlsruhe had argued that polygamy violated the dignity of man as guaranteed in article 1 [of the German constitution – translator] – in the judges’ opinion “an absolutely unique legal opinion”. They pointed to a decision by the administrative court Regensburg: Who violates the principle of single marriage, is not necessary an “enemy of the constitution”, it said “boldly and correctly”.
In the case at hand, the court also acknowledged the special circumstances. The plaintiff said that he had married the woman, his cousin, because their affair from the year 2006, was busted. Only this way he were able to save her from social ostracism in Syria. His Muslim belief allowed a multiple marriage. At the same time, he admitted, he could not imagine to be one of several husbands.

Case of fundamental importance
After detours over Istanbul, Abu Dhabi and Sweden, the wife now lives in Karlsruhe, too, but in an apartment of her own. His first wife always knew of her, allegedly. There would be no marital contact. The city of Karlsruhe already lodged an appeal against the verdict. The administrative court allowed the revision at the Federal Administrative Court. „We deem the clarification of this legal matter of fundamental importance for generality and consistency”, a townsspeaker said.
(File Reference 12 S 2216/14).

Oh well, now that they are here and we can’t or won’t send them away, we might as well give them work permits and federal funds

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An original translation from German daily newspaper Hamburger Abendblatt:

Merkel and Scholz: Integrate Rejected Asylum Seekers
By Christoph Heinemann and Christian Unger
25.08.17

Olaf Scholz, mayor of Hamburg, and Angela Merkel

Abendblatt exclusive: Access to language courses and Federal Funds
Merkel formed task team in response to Scholz’ Motion

Hamburg/Berlin.
The lost ones meet every Friday evening in a cafe in the Schanze. Seven young Afghans without a perspective to stay – as their asylum application has either been in process for more than one year, or has been decided upon negatively, they aren’t allowed to work or to visit a proper language course*.
Several thousand of such people, often merely “tolerated” for years, live in Hamburg.
Mayor Olaf Scholz (SPD, Social Democrats) apparently wants to grant these people extensive assistance measures. As Abendblatt learnt exclusively, already in June a task force was formed upon decision of chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU, Christian Democrats), which is to develop suggestions. Members of this task force are representatives of Senate, the Chief of the Federal Agency for Work, Detlef Scheele (SPD), as well as leaders of Saarland which is led by the CDU. In November, the group is expected to present their findings at a meeting of the Federal Presidents.

Scholz wants to give rejected asylum seekers a perspective
Olaf Scholz (SPD) had put the topic on the agenda at a meeting of the minister presidents, according to sources in the Senate. The plan is to assist all those asylum seekers more, who do not have a safe perspective to stay, but who de facto will be in Germany for a longer period of time. “You need to face reality and give these people a chance, too”, a source neaer Scholz said. The chief of the Agency for Work and former Senator for Social issues, Detlef Scheele, allegedly is also among the advocates for better assitance of the affected peole.

Possible reforms are politically sensitive
A source close to the mayor says that several concrete steps are possible: the admission of people fro countries like Afghanistan into integration courses of the Federal Agency for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) and better care by the Federal Agency for Work, and faster issue of work permits.
According to the source, in the future, also foreigners who are merely tolerated** might be able to profit from assistance programmes, for example the Federal Agency for Work might pay for part of their wage, to encourage giving work to refugees. The focus of the efforts is intended to be on people who have already been living in Hamburg and in other federal states for a few years with an insecure perspective of staying.
Speaker of Senate, Jörg Schmoll, did not want to comment on the task force and the suggestions upon request. A speaker of the Federal Agency for Work merely confirmed that Detlef Scheele would deliver a presentation at the next meeting of the minister presidents. The making available of funds for (rejected) asylum seekers is politically sensitive. Normally, a “tolerance” (suspension of deportation) is only issued when a deportation cannot be carried out for concrete reasons, for example illness. But in fact, deportations to Afghanistan are extremely rare, due to the situation in that country. In Hamburg, Afghans make for the largest group of asylum seekers and refugees, even before the Syrians.

Translator’s notes:
*  “aren’t allowed to work or to visit a proper language course”
Every foreigner in Germany, legal or illegal, may sign up for the many language courses available on the free market. So what is meant by “proper language course” must be public-funded language courses with no tuition fee
** “tolerated”, “geduldet”, is a legal term for people who are in Germany illegally, but who are not deported for a variety of reasons

Germany and Jordan in Dispute over Sharia for German Armed Forces

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An original translation from Zeit Online

German Armed Forces
Germany and Jordan in Dispute over Immunity for Soldiers
Before the German Armed Forces move to Jordan, the German government intends to achieve their immunity before law. Otherwise, they would be under sharia law.
August 26, 2017

German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen in Jordan

It remains unclear yet if German soldiers in Jordan will be protected from Sharia law. The Federal government had made this demand in the negotiations concerning the stationing of German soldiers in Jordan. But according to Der Spiegel information, Jordan has not yet granted such immunity.
About 250 German Armed Forces soldiers are to be stationed in Jordan from Septeber on, to fly reconnaissance flights against the terror Militia“Islamic State” from there. The Federal government wants them to be protected from criminal prosecution in Jordan, as it partially still is under the Koran-inspired sharia law which also sees death penalty. The jurisdiction of the Sharia courts is limited to certain aspects like family law though.
After withdrawal from Turkish Incirlik, the soldiers are to be stationed on the Jordan base Muwaffak Salti near Al-Asrak. The moving was a decision of the Federal government early June. The reason for this decision was the conflict with the Turkish government regarding visit rights of German representatives at the German Armed Forces soldiers.
“We are still nogotiating the stationing arrangement”, the defense ministry in Berlin comments. They were not expecting a delay of the moving of the “Tornado”recconnaissance jets which is scheduled for October. [“Tornado” is the name of a type of German military jet – translator]
Last year, there had been similar discussions with Qatar. There, a compromise was achieved, according to which soldiers were flown out to Germany, instead of being held responsible before a Qatari court. In Jordan, such compromise seemed unlikely due to the size of the mission, Der Spiegel quotes Federal Armed sources.

ADD: A Vote for Germany’s Future

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A new party will be up for elections in the German national elections on September 24, with the promising name ADD, “Allianz Deutscher Demokraten” (“Alliance of German Democrats”).
A Turkish gentleman named Ramzi Aru formed the AD Democrats out of protest in 2016, when the German Bundestag recognized the mass killings of the Armenians by the Turks as a genocide. According to Mr. Aru, this puts all German parties out of the question for Turkish voters.

Wait – is that Turkish premier Erdogan on a German election poster?

Intrigued by the ADD poster for the German Bundestag election, which curiously appears to show the counterfeit of Mr. Erdogan, we went to their website to read their mission statement:

(excerpt:)

“The AD Democrats champion a communal right to vote for all foreign nationals and people without nationality who are of the necessary voting age, and who have been legally residing in Germany for a period no longer than a communal legislative period; independent of their nationality.
Whoever feels that their opinion matters, is already integrated. The communal right to vote must be granted to all people, to enable them to participate in the active forming of their direct environment.
Excluding people from the right to vote is a discrimination of them when exercising their political rights. Due to the demographic development, a growth of the population that is politically not represented is to be expected in the next years. Thus, in communities with a high proportion of foreigners, democracy-less areas will form. Foreigner Advisory Boards and Migrant Gremiums alone cannot replace the active democratic process. The AD Democrats champion that every foreigner receives the full right to vote on communal and national level after ten years of residence.
The AD Democrats also champion to grant families more political weight by giving the parents the right to vote for their underage children. This increased weight will mean that families will move into the center of the political processes, and family policies will automatically become more sustainable. Only who has a vote can be sure to be acknowledged politically; especially children.”

In what appears to be a Turkish jingoistic news portal, we found a report about the ADD’s party convention in Duisburg in November 2016.

ADD Vice Chair Ramazan Akbas and Martin Lejeune (right) at the ADD party convention in Duisburg

Regular readers will recognize two familiar faces at the event: One of them is the German ‘journalist’, former Marxist, and convert to Islam Martin Lejeune (photo right). We covered his unfortunate little mishap at the Berlin Marathon, where he was shilling for Erdogan: Taking One For Team Erdogan (Gates of Vienna, April 8, 2017).

The gentleman on the left, speaking to Mr. Lejeune, is Mr. Ramazan Akbas, vice chair of the ADD. He is new to us, but from another news portal, Turkishnews, we larn that he has lodged a complaint against the aforementioned Armenia resolution of the German Bundestag, arguing that the resolution violates his human rights. His complaint was turned down, so now he is suing at the European Court of Human Rights.

“famous blogger” Bilgili Üretmen at the ADD party convention

The other familiar face is, we learn, “the popular blogger from the Turkish immigrant community, Bilgili Üretmen”, here seen holding his membership card. We did not know that he was popular or a blogger, we only knew him from what appeared to be a nervous breakdown and a screaming fit directed at the German concert organizer Marek Lieberberg, when Lieberberg’s “Rock am Ring” event was cancelled due to a terror risk, and Lieberberg suggested that terror might have something to do with Islam (full story: Ramadan am Ring, Part 2, Gates of Vienna, June 11, 2017. Turn the volume down should you watch the video).

All in all, we think that with such personnel, and such programme, this newly-founded party is a welcome contribution to the diversity of the German political landscape. What could possibly go wrong?

(Thank you Gate of Vienna’s Baron Bodissey for suggesting the title of this article – and apologies for stealing it!)

Sibel Kekilli: “You don’t accept other people, especially not women or people of other beliefs”

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The popular German actress Sibel Kekilli (born in Germany in 1980 as the daughter of immigrants), known to an international audience as ‘Shae’ in Game of Thrones, has left Instagram over harrassment mainly by Muslims.

Actress Sibel Kekilli

Bild quote her saying:

“This is the first and the last time that I will speak to the people who hate me, most of them are Turks, unfortunately.
I will no longer tolerate threats, insults and disgusting sex photos that you send me. You are full of hate and jealousy. You call yourselves Muslims, yet you don’t accept other people, especially not women or people of other beliefs. You are full of sh**… Honestly, I feel sorry for you. Stop following me. I will say goodbye for a little while.”

Sibel’s own experience as growing up as a girl in a “relatively modern” Muslim family in Germany, not being allowed to go to college, or to partake in school field trips, led her to break away from her family and champion womens’ rights.

She caused a “scandal” in 2006, when, in a speech in Berlin addressing domestic violence, she said:

“I have experienced for myself that both physical and psychological abuse are regarded as normal in a Muslim family. Sadly, violence belongs to the culture of Islam.”

Part of the audience booed her, one man interrupted her speech and yelled: “Islam has got nothing to do with violence. You humiliate our people!”, and the Turkish consul general got up and left in protest.

In a speech on behalf of Terre des Femmes on International Women’s Day, 2015, Kekilli called Islamic culture “merciless”. She said women like herself were treated “worse than murderers”, which inflicted psychological damage upon women, and asked Muslim men to let women live their lives in peace.

Sibel Kekilli: “this inhumane pressure is making you sad, hunched, depressive”

A video of that speech in German can be found on Youtube: “Sibel Kekilli über Individuelle Freiheit und Kollektiven Druck” (“Sibel Kekilli on Individual Freedom and Collective Pressure”). A Youtube user was so kind to post a full English translation below the video in the comments.

The comments under that video in (bad) German by users with Turkish names are calling her a slut, a sellout and whore.

Germany: First Arrest in Ban of Antifa Site “Linksunten Indymedia”

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Translated from this German news portal.
August 25
“Daniel Behrens, member of Die Linke (photo right) was arrested at 11 in connection with the Linksunten ban, according to his lawyer. The politician is allegedly one of several people identified as the author of calls for criminal actions. He will be presented to the committing magistrate early tomorrow morning.”

Daniel Behrens of Die Linke was allegedly arrested in connection to the Linksunten Indymedia ban

The news was spread over the Indymedia portal (link), but in the meantime is only visible for registered users of the platform. Unfortunately we haven’t been able to receive confirmation of the circumstances from other sources.

Deutschlandfunk [public radio, translator] reports that two of the Indymedia operators were among the “journalists” who had their accreditation withdrawn at the G20 summit.

https://twitter.com/DLF_Berlin/status/901038251770826752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fopposition24.com%2Flinksunten-verbot-fordert-erste-verhaftung%2F349147

For backgrond, see our earlier reports:
Breaking: Germany FINALLY bans largest European Antifa Website “Linksunten Indymedia”
Left Howls, as largest German Antifa Website is Banned: “Three Bullets in the Back of His Head” for Interior Minister De Maizière

Left Howls, as largest German Antifa Website is Banned: “Three Bullets in the Back of His Head” for Interior Minister De Maizière

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We reported earlier today that this morning local time, German Interior Minister De Maizière banned the Antifa website Linksunten Indymedia.

Call me naive but I am actually surprised that the Left is howling. I would have thought they would distance themselves from a website that not only calls for attacks on citizens, but boasts the results of such attacks.

But far from distancing:

Ulla Jelpke, Die Linke, former East German ruling party SED: “an illegitimate act of censorship”

„The ban of indymedia.linksunten is an illegitimate act of censorship (…) The project indymedia.linksunten stands for a leftist, anti-capitalist counter public. To restrict their reach and internal communications is an arbitrary curtailment of the freedom of opinion and press.“ [Jelpke] would not like everything on the website. But the ban were an act of censorship and intimidation.

„Everyone who will be accused of continuing indymedia.linksunten in the future will have to be prepared to be punished – not just for the contents of isolated contributions to the site, but alone for being a part of this left project“, Jelpke said. „The ban is a threat to all other media that still discuss revolutionary and anti-capitalist positions. The purpose of this is to intimidate the left in Germany as a whole.“
Ulla Jelpke, speaker of Die Linke, former ruling party of East Germany SED; source: Die Welt

Julia Schramm, Antonio Amadeu Foundation: “Next they will declare Antifa a terrorist organization, and then half of us here might be convicted as ringleaders”

Julia Schramm of the Antonio Amadeu Foundation fears:
“Next they will declare Antifa a terrorist organization, and then half of us here might be convicted as ringleaders. Add to this unlimited custody, and a few violations of the constitution, underpinned by proof from online surveillance. What a prospect, Germany, what a prospect.”

Ironically, Mrs. Schramm and the organization for which she is working, Antonio Amadeu Stiftung, have published an in-depth manual on how to report people to the police for so-called ‘hate speech’. Manuals on how to surveil the web for hate speech and how to report people is the emphasis of their work. See Gates of Vienna:
Oh, Mommy, I Ain’t No Commie — I Just Fight Hate Speech on the Internet, July 17, 2016

This comment of one of Julia’s Facebook followers, of course, is just an innocent question and no ‘hate speech’:

Follower of Julia Schramm: “three bullets in the back of his head” for Interior Minister De Maizière

“I wonder if these pathetic CDU interior ministers will at least end with three bullets in the back of their head, executed, in the trunk of their car”.

Breaking: Germany FINALLY bans largest European Antifa Website “Linksunten Indymedia”

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For updates, please scroll down.

l. For more than a decade, Linksunten Indymedia, whose servers are physically located in Canada, served as the German Antifa platform. Despite their open advocating of militancy, and taking resposibility for violent attacks, German authorities never took any action against them. At this moment, it remains unclear what caused the sudden change of mind.

Last year, after a data theft, Linksunten Indymedia published thousands of private adresses of ordinary citizens who are members of the AfD (a center-right, Islam-critical oppositional party); and took responsibility for vandalizing the private house of Akif Pirincci (a famous German-Turkish author of bestselling cat novels, who, after criticizing German migrant and refugee policies, has fallen from grace with the Left).
None of this has ever resulted in any action by German authorities. Wikipedia still sugarcoat Indymedia as simply “a global open publishing network of journalist collectives that report on political and social issues.”

Indymedia Logo

It remains unclear what it was that suddenly caused German authorities to change their mind. One might speculate if it was the fact that this week, Indymedia took responsibility for an extensive series of sabotage acts on the German railway system which, even though it is completely concealed by the German mainstream press, put trains around Berlin to a complete halt for the whole last weekend, affecting thousands of commuters.
Der Spiegel speculates if it might have to do with the Antifa riots at the G20 summit in Hamburg last month.

As of 11 AM CET, the Linksunten Indymedia website is finally offline. Their twitter channels are still open.

The vandalized house of Akif Pirincci, as boasted on Antifa website Linksunten Indymedia

2. Der Spiegel: Interior Ministry Bans Left-Extreme Platform
“Linksunten.indymedia”
Interior Ministry Bans Left-Extreme Platform
According to Der Spiegel information, the Interior Ministry has banned the internet website “linksunten.indymedia.org”. The website is the most influential platform of the extreme left in Germany.
By Jörg Diehl

G20 riots in Hamburg

Friday, August 25, 2017, 7:12 AM
It is a serious blow against left extremes in Germany: According to Spiegel information, the Interior Ministry banned the website “linksunten.indymedia.org” on Friday morning. The decree was delivered to the operators of the platform, who live in Freiburg, in accordance with law of associations. The site were in its “purpose and actions violating criminal code” and were opposed to constitutional law, the Ministry’s announcement said. But the “Indymedia” website and their twitter channel are still available [the website has gone offline in the meantime, translator].

Security authorities deem the website, which was started in early 2009, the most influential platform of the left extreme scene in Germany – and as a forum for violent Autonomists [term the German Black Block use for themselves, translator].
In a self-portrayal from September 2016 (“Social revolution is and remains the only perspective”) the “Indymedia” organizers describe that their platform “developed intot he most important website of the radical left in German-speaking countries”: “Each day, thousands of leftists visit the website, to get the latest information about all aspects of antagonistical currents [sic!]. Occupations, attacks, debates or fights for wages – there are only few rebellions here and now that were not called for, or reported on, by ‘linksunten’.”
Each user can publish their own contributions, a team of administrators reviews the articles according to certain criteria, censors passages or completely removes texts – anonymity is the main priority of the virtual cooperation. The website provides advice for their users how to conceal their identity on the web.
In a confidential analysis, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution [German Intelligence, translator] lamented already months ago that Indymedia was a “lawless zone on the internet”. Due to their conspirational behavior, the authors of the texts, which in part are criminal, were impossible to identify, according to the investigators.

“All those beautiful claims of responsibility for attacks”
It appears that it is working principle of “Indymedia” to not know their authors: The operators cynically noted, when asked about their precautions against Ddos attacks and if they record their users’ IP adresses: “We do not want to know who publishes all those beautiful claims of responsibility for attacks..”
There are heaps of claims of responsibility on “linksunten.indymedia”, arsonry of cars of police, diplomats, security officers, Pegida followers. Paint bombs, molotov cocktails. Pepper spray attacks on fraternity members, fights with right extremists: “Hunt Nazis, Punch Nazis. And the cops too.”, an article published in December 2016 says.
Besides political statements, there constantly are instructions on how to build molotov cocktails, there are abuse and insults, calls for violence – like when in March a user wrote about the“fight against fascis” in Göttingen: “We will never again allow this, no matter how many windows we will have to break, how many barricades we will have to burn, and how many of those fascist-protecting cops will have to eat bricks.”

Responsible Heads Behind
The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution [German intelligence, translator] identified three Freiburg residents as the responsible heads behind “linksunten.indymedia”. But the group of operators also includes many more moderators, technicians and administrators. According to „Indymedia“ self protrayal, coordination is done via mailing lists and member meetings in which about 30 people took place.
Authorities have been monitoring the forum for years, but the ban comes as a surprise – it might be a reaction to the severe riots during the G20 summit in Hamburg. Several CDU/CSU politicians had since demanded a tougher stance against left extremists. Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière (CDU) told “Stern”, Germany needed “a strong stance against left extremism just as against right extremism”.
The 19 CDU/CSU ministers for Interior and Justice plan to adopt a so-called ‘Berlin Declaration’ next week to present themselves as tokens for safety and order in the election campaign. Allegedly, the meeting will also deal with a stronger stance against leftist Autonomists [translator: Antifa/Black Block].

update:
3. German Left Howl: “Illegitimate Act of Censorship”
„The ban of indymedia.linksunten is an illegitimate act of censorship”, said the domestic speaker of Die Linke [“The Left”, former East German ruling party] Ulla Jelpke to Die Welt. „The project indymedia.linksunten stands for a leftist, anti-capitalist counter public. To restrict their reach and internal communications is an arbitrary curtailment of the freedom of opinion and press.“
She would not like everything on the website. But the ban were an act of censorship and intimidation. „Everyone who will be accused of continuing indymedia.linksunten in the future will have to be prepared to be punished [I sure hope so! translator] – not just for the contents of isolated contributions to the site, but alone for being a part of this left project“, Jelpke said. „The ban is a threat to all other media that still discuss revolutionary and anti-capitalist positions. The purpose of this is to intimidate the left scene in Germany as a whole.“ (source: Die Welt)

I guess it says a lot about your mindset when you think it is a ‘curtailment of freedom of opinion and press’ when a website is banned that instructs how to build weapons, that publishes the adresses, and calls for the targeting, of people whose only wrongdoing is to be members of a democratic, oppositional party, and that celebrates violence and assassination.

Ulla Jelpke of Die Linke, the former East German ruling party SED: “An illegitimate act of censorship”