German police launch raids against far-right extremists

Local authorities say their investigation focuses on 20 people with ties to country's hooligan, martial arts and extremist scenes

By AP 10 April 2019, 10:48 pm
Illustrative: Police officer walk between cars during a raid in the village Meldorf, Germany, January 30, 2019. (Bodo Marks/dpa via AP)

BERLIN — Police have raided more than 30 premises linked to suspected far-right extremists in Berlin and three other eastern German states.

German news agency dpa reported that the raids early Wednesday were mainly centered on Brandenburg state and the region around Cottbus, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) southeast of the capital.

According to Brandenburg police, the investigation focuses on about 20 people with ties to Germany’s hooligan, martial arts and right-wing extremist scenes.

Cottbus has a comparatively large neo-Nazi scene affiliated to the city’s main football team, Energie Cottbus.

In this photo from April 28, 2017, a Cottbus fan is being caught by security guards during a soccer match between SV Babelsberg and 03 Energie Cottbus in Babelsberg eastern Germany. (Jan Kuppert/dpa via AP, file)

The raids come a day after authorities in Austria searched dozens of homes in several states, seizing weapons and large amounts of banned propaganda material.

There were no immediate reports of arrests in either set of raids.

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