German court delays high-profile neo-Nazi trial

National Socialist Underground allegedly robbed 15 banks, carried out two bombings, and killed eight Turks, a Greek and one cop

BERLIN (AP) — The trial against the sole surviving member of a neo-Nazi group alleged to have carried out a deadly terror campaign against Turks in Germany has been postponed following complaints over courtroom access for foreign reporters.

A spokeswoman for the Munich regional court said Monday that the start of the trial against Beate Zschaepe, 38, and four alleged accomplices would be delayed from Wednesday until May 6.

This was to allow for a new allocation of seats after Germany’s highest court ruled last week that there must be sufficient places for foreign reporters at the trial, she said.

Margarete Noetzel was unable to say by what criteria the seats would now be distributed and whether there would be places reserved specifically for Turkish reporters.

Eight of the men allegedly killed by the self-styled National Socialist Underground were of Turkish origin, and one was Greek. The group is also accused of killing a policewoman, as well as carrying out two bombings and 15 bank robberies.

Turkish media had missed out on any of the 50 press seats during the first allocation — conducted on a first-come, first-serve basis — prompting harsh criticism from officials in Turkey that strained relations with Germany.

A lawyer for relatives of the group’s first victim expressed frustration at the postponement of the trial. Jens Rabe, who represents the son and daughter of Enver Simsek, a businessman killed in 2000, said the Munich court had ignored constructive proposals until it was too late.

The group’s existence only came to light by chance in November 2011, when two of the group’s three members died in an apparent murder-suicide after a botched bank robbery.

For years German authorities had dismissed a possible far-right motive in the killings and focused instead of the victims’ alleged links to foreign criminals.

Several high-ranking security officials have resigned over the past two years after acknowledging serious failures in their handling of the case.

For many of Germany’s 3 million Turks the trial has become a test of their adopted home’s willingness to treat them as more than second class citizens.