An alleged leader of a violent left-wing extremist group in Germany has been remanded in custody after his arrest.
The arrest warrant was executed by an investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in the southwestern city of Karlsruhe, a spokeswoman for the federal prosecutor’s office said on Saturday.
The authority accuses the man, identified under German privacy laws as Johann G, of membership of a left-wing extremist organization.
Johann G is said to have belonged to the Leipzig group led by student Lina E and to have held “a prominent position” within the organization alongside her, the Public Prosecution Service said.
“The organization, which also has regional offices, carried out violent attacks on individuals they considered part of the ‘right-wing scene’ in 2019 and 2020,” the statement said.
Numerous people were injured, the report said. The members are said to have generally prepared the actions intensively, including spying in advance on the habits of selected victims.
Their militant left-wing extremist ideology reportedly included the rejection of the existing democratic constitutional state, the fundamental right to freedom of expression and the state monopoly on the use of violence.
Furthermore, it is alleged that Johann G and accomplices attacked individuals in the Hungarian capital Budapest in February 2023, targeting people the attackers believed belonged to the right-wing scene. According to the statements, several people were injured in the incidents.
The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office accuses the man of participating in a criminal organization on several counts. He is also charged with serious bodily injury in collaboration with others, disruption of public order and material damage.
