Magdeburg (dpa/sa) – The number of extremist and violent messages in the chat of a former training class at the Aschersleben Police University has been corrected upwards. It is currently assumed that there will be 80 messages, videos and pictures and not 50 as previously assumed, said Interior Minister Tamara Zieschang (CDU) on Friday in the state parliament’s interior committee. The class chat is said to have existed between September 2017 and December 2021 – with a total of around 5000 messages.
Contrary to previous assumptions, 9 and not 11 of the candidates actively posted National Socialist, anti-Semitic, racist and violence-glorifying content, Zieschang specified previous information. The class consisted of 26 students, 18 of whom are still in national service. Dismissal proceedings have been initiated against all 18 of them. Officials are currently being heard on the allegations. In each individual case, a decision will then be made as to whether the requirements for dismissal are met, it said.
Criminal investigations were being conducted against four of those involved, including for using signs of unconstitutional organizations, hate speech and the distribution of violent and animal pornographic writings. One stands at the beginning of the processing, said Zieschang. At the state parliament session on Thursday, the minister had already announced the consequences. “We will work on ourselves and improve in all areas and at all hierarchical levels.”
The interior minister informed the public for the first time last week about the chat, the investigations and the intended layoffs.
