The roots of the community of solidarity in Western democracies are no longer as firmly anchored as they should be. This is the breeding ground in which nationalist and extremist ideas can spread and easily find supporters. Because opponents of democracy try to win supporters at every turn in turbulent times. And not without success. However, the State Office of Criminal Investigation of North Rhine-Westphalia is well equipped to identify those who pose a threat. A huge challenge. The security situation requires a 360-degree view. Extremists are attacking our society from all directions. There is incitement in the streets or in cyberspace. Borders are becoming blurred. Foreign powers are also running disinformation and destabilization campaigns. Department 2 in the LKA, "Counter-terrorism and state security", is resolutely opposed to all those who want to undermine our free society.
The murderous energy of Islamists, for example, is a cause for concern. This is demonstrated by the knife attack in a Duisburg gym in which four men were injured, some of them critically, on April 18, 2023. A few days earlier, the same perpetrator, a 27-year-old Syrian, had stabbed a 35-year-old man unknown to him several times in the street and fled. The victim died on the same day.
In the meantime, Maan D. has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court for one count of murder and four other counts of attempted murder combined with grievous bodily harm. In addition, preventive detention was ordered. During the reading of the indictment, the bearded fanatic showed no remorse and raised a finger to the sky - as is customary with IS supporters.
"It is common for people to radicalize themselves on the internet in line with militant jihadist ideology," states Jochen Bäcker. The Director of Criminal Investigation heads Department 24 "PMK - Religious Ideology" at the State Office of Criminal Investigation. "In case of doubt, this does not require a direct connection to the so-called IS or another terrorist organization." People who are not involved in any fixed organizational structures can operate in secret for a long time. "We are dependent on information in order to be able to take targeted action against Islamists and jihadists," says the officer. "A central office (ISA) has been set up in our department in the event of a situation, where all information from the state and federal government comes together." Over time, many individual facts will result in a coherent overall picture. "We have a lot of expertise in our company to put the pieces of the puzzle together."
Coordination with other authorities is always necessary. Relevant threat issues are regularly discussed in the Joint Counter-Terrorism Center (GTAZ) of the federal and state governments. The coordination center deals exclusively with combating Islamist terrorism. "In the event of a specific threat, a BAO is set up at the relevant police headquarters so that a powerful team can get to work immediately and target and arrest those posing a threat," explains Bäcker.
In the joint fight, the first tips often come from intelligence services. This is how they became aware of the Iranian who is said to have prepared a poison attack with ricin and cyanide in Castrop-Rauxel. He is no stranger: In 2018, he had been sentenced to seven years in prison for attempted murder. A special unit arrested the suspect on the night of January 7 to 8, 2023. He has now been sentenced to four years in prison with subsequent preventive detention by the Dortmund Regional Court.
The LKA officer Bäcker is also alarmed by what a German convert has just been accused of. The Islamist is said to have intended to drive a truck into a crowd of people. He was arrested in October. "The case is now being extensively investigated." Bäcker speaks of "functional types" in the Islamist scene. On the one hand, there are the "Gefährder", mostly younger men. On the other, there are the masterminds - preachers, logisticians or fundraisers.
Islam expert Julia H. from the Scientific Service of Department 22 has studied the Salafist and jihadist milieu extensively. "We help to categorize different facets within the phenomenon and provide support both in-house and in areas where there are no Islamic scholars working," says the expert. Messages are sent covertly. In order to decipher the actual intentions, the "context" is important. The pressure to search has changed the Islamist scene, explains Hauff. Those who are determined to do anything no longer necessarily change their appearance. In the past, a long beard or ankle-less wide pants were a typical sign of Islamist attackers. "That has changed," she notes. "Such an outfit can now just as easily be a provocation. We also need as much information as possible for a comprehensive Islamological assessment."
This ultimately applies to all political extremists that LKA Division 2 has to deal with. Christian Hartings is a psychologist. When processing cases, he analyzes how likely it is that politically or religiously motivated offenders will resume their criminal career after being released from prison. "To find out, I try to talk to them myself." The government employee takes the assessments of the prisons into account. "It's important to know whether the motivation that led to the offense is still there. We also look at the social environment. Finally, we make recommendations for measures and formulate what should happen to minimize the risk of a renewed drift into terrorism."
In addition to the Scientific Service, for which Hauff and Hartings work, the Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) PMK is located in SG 22.2. It analyzes openly accessible sources - mostly from the internet. "We mainly identify and locate people," says team leader Fabian Coenen. He works with sociologists, IT specialists and political scientists, among others. When searching for suspects, he sometimes finds what he is looking for surprisingly quickly. "Some time ago, there was a death threat on Instagram against a prominent politician from North Rhine-Westphalia," says the media and communication scientist. "The suspect also posted a photo of himself and his car on TikTok under the code name he had used. We had him by the license plate number. Very simple."
The LKA's counter-terrorism department also maintains investigation teams. Christoph Zeidler and his officers are involved in all areas of political crime. "We are commissioned by the Federal Public Prosecutor General or the Public Prosecutor General's Office in Düsseldorf," says the First Chief Inspector. "We only deal with cases that the security authorities consider to be very important," says Zeidler. "This involves identifiable suspects, i.e. individuals." The focus is on membership of and support for a terrorist organization.
On behalf of the Federal Public Prosecutor General, a special unit pursues violations of international criminal law. Foreigners who have committed genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes anywhere in the world should not be able to feel safe. "We want them to be held accountable at some point - even if they never set foot on German soil," says Oli Petrosch. "We want to document what happened so that it is not forgotten." The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) is often the first German authority to learn of unimaginably cruel crimes. "We are grateful when we can contribute to clarification through such help."
The world has become tougher and more polarized. This is also felt by Department 25, which deals with politically motivated crime from the left as well as extremism and terrorism of foreign ideology, for example the activities of the Kurdish PKK, and espionage. "State terrorism in particular has increased significantly in our country," states Head of Department Stefan Neugebauer. "Foreign states used to operate covertly. Today, we see a certain indifference," says the senior criminal investigator, surprised at the new brazenness.
The fact that, for example, state actors are now using considerable violence against people they consider to be "enemies of the state" or "traitors", even abroad, was demonstrated here in Germany in the 2019 Tiergarten murder in Berlin.
In its ruling, the Berlin Court of Appeal described the crime as state terrorism.
The Office for the Protection of the Constitution is responsible for counterintelligence. "But the offices there let us know when people are in danger," emphasizes Neugebauer. More and more foreign dissidents are being threatened in North Rhine-Westphalia. "Not only from Russia, but also from other influential powers." Unfortunately, this is difficult to prove. The actions are usually directed by embassies whose members enjoy immunity. "In most cases, only the henchmen are available to us," summarizes the head of Department 25 Stefan Neugebauer. "Nevertheless, the potential victims are grateful for the protection we can organize."
In order to assess the overall situation, the report on the protection of the constitution is revealing. The number of political crimes in NRW rose by almost 40 percent in 2022 - with assaults, acts of propaganda and mass violations of the right of assembly. Numerous cases can be clearly assigned to one political direction. There are the left-wing extremists, whose strength is currently estimated at 2,810 people. They made their presence felt, for example, in the lignite dispute around Lützerath and with the climate activists of the Last Generation. The number of right-wing extremists is given as 3,545. In contrast to the left, the trend here is clearly rising.
The Ministry of the Interior considers "right-wing extremism with its inhuman ideology" to be the greatest current threat to democracy. The Reichsbürger, led by Prince Reuß, had even planned to overthrow the state in December 2022. The close observation of the Reichsbürger continues. A man from the Mettmann district was also arrested during a raid in October 2023. The 49-year-old is said to have played a central role in the alleged terrorist group "United Patriots". Investigators accuse him of preparing a "highly treasonous enterprise" that was to lead to a coup d'état. Attacks on the energy supply were apparently also intended.
A trial against eleven men taking place in Stuttgart is causing a stir. They are alleged to have founded a terrorist organization. Three are from NRW. According to the indictment, plans to attack mosques were discussed in the Minden home of 59-year-old Thomas N. The recorded conversations, which were played repeatedly during the trial, reveal a xenophobic world view and a high propensity for violence. The federal prosecution considers Thomas N. to be a central figure in the group and demanded a prison sentence of five years for him. Thomas N. was sentenced to four years and six months in prison by the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court. North Rhine-Westphalian task forces have also roughed up other right-wing extremist circles. Following the banning of the neo-Nazi gang "Hammerskins" and its supporters from "Crew 38", apartments in Düsseldorf, Bochum, Goch and Wetter were searched. Among other things, brass knuckles and a lot of data storage media were seized. "Obviously it was time to clean up", commented Interior Minister Herbert Reul on the intervention.
These brown enemies of the constitution wanted to find new supporters with music and martial arts events. "Protection of the white race" was the slogan - with Hitler salutes and banned symbols. "A lot was brewing," says Criminal Director Detlev Boßbach from Department 23, which focuses on right-wing extremism. The right-wing extremist scene is changing. Of course, you can still find the classics with combat boots and the rockers. "But the picture is now dominated by people who consider themselves to be middle-class." Extreme ideas are becoming socially acceptable again, he diagnoses.
The enemies of freedom must be discouraged on all fronts through determination, warns department head Holger Schepanski in his analysis. It is an alarm signal that the enemies of democracy are increasingly seeking common fields of activity despite ideological differences. "We must," says the Chief Criminal Director, "stand up to this with all our strength and defend our liberal order."
