21-05-2025
Germany arrests far-right teenagers over asylum seeker attacks
German prosecutors said Wednesday that police had swooped on a group of far-right teenagers alleged to have carried out attacks on asylum seekers and plotted to undermine the government.
The suspects, reportedly aged 14 to 18, are said to have been members of a 'right-wing extremist terrorist organisation' founded in April 2024 and known as the 'Last Wave of Defence,' the federal prosecutor's office said.
Their aim was 'to bring about the collapse of the democratic system in the Federal Republic of Germany through acts of violence, primarily against migrants and political opponents,' the office said in a statement.
Five teenage males — four members and one supporter of the group — were arrested in nationwide raids on Wednesday morning.
Two of them, partially identified as Jerome M. and Lenny M., were also accused of attempted murder and arson. Prosecutors said the pair allegedly set fire to a cultural centre in the town of Altdoebern, in the eastern region of Brandenburg, in October. At the time, the building was occupied by several people, who escaped unharmed.
Police searched a total of 13 properties during the raids, which also targeted locations linked to three other alleged members of the group who had already been arrested.
Two of those suspects had allegedly smashed a window at an asylum seeker shelter in Schmoelln, in the eastern region of Thuringia, in January. They then attempted to start a fire by launching fireworks through the broken window, but failed to ignite a blaze. The pair also spray-painted the building with far-right slogans, including 'Foreigners out,' 'Germany for the Germans,' and 'Nazi territory.'
Germany's Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig said in a statement that what was 'particularly shocking is that all those arrested today are said to have been minors when the terrorist group was founded.'
