Trial against right-wing extremist group Combat 18 in Dortmund provisionally suspended - German court suspends far-right Combat 18 trial after charity deal
Trial Against Four Alleged Ringleaders of Banned Far-Right Group Combat 18 Suspended in Dortmund
Proceedings against four alleged ringleaders of the banned far-right extremist group Combat 18 have been provisionally halted by Dortmund Regional Court. A court spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday that the suspension was agreed upon by both the prosecution and the defendants. Under the terms of the decision, each of the four must pay €500 to a nonprofit organization—a children's village—as a condition of the suspension.
The court deemed the suspension appropriate given the lengthy duration the trial would have required and the likely outcome: a fine in the event of a conviction. The spokesperson stated that the public interest in prosecution was sufficiently addressed through these financial conditions. The case will be permanently dismissed if the defendants fulfill the payment requirement by mid-August. The provisional suspension was ordered last Friday, following 25 days of hearings.
Federal prosecutors had accused the defendants of maintaining the organizational cohesion of Combat 18—already banned in 2020—at least until spring 2022. Germany's Federal Ministry of the Interior outlawed Combat 18 Deutschland on the grounds that the group opposed the constitutional order and was "inherently aligned with Nazism."
The four men were among 17 alleged members of Combat 18 Deutschland arrested in April 2022 during a nationwide raid targeting neo-Nazi networks. According to investigators, one defendant is believed to have taken over leadership of the group and organized at least 14 clandestine meetings. At one gathering, prospective members reportedly underwent an initiation process that included questioning about Nazism.
Two other defendants are alleged to have planned and coordinated these initiation rituals. A fourth is accused of organizing far-right rock concerts and, alongside the suspected leader, selling audio recordings and clothing bearing the group's symbols.
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