Post date: May 05, 2013 5:2:35 PM
Lawyers representing the families of victims of neo-Nazi attacks over several years across Germany, say they hope to get some clarification when the trial of five suspects begins on Monday (May 6).
MUNICH, GERMANY (MAY 5, 2013) (REUTERS) - Lawyers of people who's relatives were killed in attacks by a neo-Nazi group in Germany, say their clients are looking mainly for clarification in the trial of the five accused which starts on Monday (May 6) in Munich.
The trial is one of Germany's most anticipated in decades and the murders by the far-right cell, which went undetected for more than a decade, have exposed deep intelligence lapses and a failure to recognise the threat of neo-Nazis."At the end of the day it is about finding out if the death of her husband could have been avoided if all of the investigating authorities had correctly acted in time, especially the spies of the constitutional protection, a large number of whom were involved. The question remains however if not perhaps through the cooperation of the constitutional protection, a contribution was made to the actual act," saidAngelika Lex who represents the wife of Greek Theodoros Bougarides, who was shot dead in his shop in Munich in 2005.
A previously unknown neo-Nazi cell, the National Socialist Underground (NSU), carried out the murders of the eight Turks, a Greek and a policewoman over a period from 2000 to 2007.
Speaking at the news conference the day before the trial, the lawyers said they want the behaviour of the authorities to be looked at during the trial as well.
"It is not about achieving the highest judgment for the five accused as quickly as possible. Our clients are mainly looking for clarification. That is what they want and that is why I want to contradict certain politicians and also media who are saying that the misconduct of the state regarding the NSU is not an issue in this trial. This is an issue and we will make it one. We cannot be forbidden from asking acceptable questions and we will ask them," said Sebastian Scharmer, who represents the daughter of Mehmet Kubaskik, a German citizen of Turkish origin who was found shot in the head in his kiosk in Dortmund in 2006.
"We have to understand what the court is doing and in the end we need to understand why the judgment goes this way or that. The judgment is the only chance to say in a legally binding way with a legally binding verdict: This is how it was," said Stephan Lucas, who, together with his colleagues, represents the son and daughter of Enver Simek, who was the first known victim of the NSU. He was killed in the city of Nuremberg in 2000.
The focus of the trial will be a 38-year-old woman, Beate Zschaepe, accused of being an NSU founder member and of involvement in the murders. Four suspected male accomplices are also on trial.