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Public prosecutor's office in Fulda: Investigations against a candidate for justice secretary
Photo: Arne Dedert/dpa
The investigation into suspected sedition at the financial administration study center in Rotenburg, Hesse, has been expanded to include another case. Two witnesses reported possible racist statements by a candidate for civil service in September or October 2023, the Fulda public prosecutor's office and the East Hesse police headquarters said on Friday. A 33-year-old candidate for justice secretary is now being investigated on suspicion of sedition.
According to the information, the investigations against unknown persons because of “possible xenophobic chants” at a celebration on January 23rd on the grounds of the educational institution are still ongoing. “In particular, numerous witness interviews are still pending to establish the times of the crime and the exact wording of the statements,” the statement says. The public prosecutor's office and the police did not want to provide further details, citing the ongoing investigation.
According to SPIEGEL research, the party was organized by participants in the current exam year. Students and trainees from all specialist and teaching areas of the educational institution were able to take part in the celebration. The university management explains that guests from outside were not allowed. A group of revelers are said to have shouted right-wing extremist slogans such as “Germany for the Germans” and “Foreigners out” to a pop song. Around 100 people are said to have celebrated in the “Beatkeller” of the university of applied sciences.
New advice center for those affected
As a result, an advice center for students affected by discrimination will be set up next Monday, said Finance Minister Alexander Lorz (CDU) in Frankfurt am Main. In Rotenburg, “many discussions are currently being held internally in various forms with students and encouraging them to name possible cases of discrimination or racism,” explained the Ministry of Finance. As a result, the new suspected case from the judiciary department became known. The management directly contacted the investigative authorities.
According to its own information, the study center for financial administration and justice trains around 1,000 new dual students and trainees for the public service every year. Of these, around 820 new candidates are attributable to the Hessian financial administration and around 210 to the Hessian and partly Thuringian judiciary.
Training on racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination
Lorz reported on a four-year collaboration with the Anne Frank educational institution, which offers training courses for the Hessian tax administration on racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination. Around 1,200 candidates have taken part so far. The cooperation came about after a racist incident in Rotenburg in 2019. One candidate gave the Hitler salute. A criminal complaint was filed against him and legal action was taken against him. He left the service. Lorz spoke of individual cases in view of a total of 16,000 employees in the financial administration.
sun/dpa