In the case of the right-wing extremist chats within the Frankfurt SEK, the number of officials who knew about it is larger than previously known.
According to information from the FAZ, a not inconsiderable number of other officials were aware that messages, pictures and videos with inciting content had been sent around.
Apparently, however, no criminal liability has been proven for these officials.
They are therefore now being investigated under disciplinary law.
Katharina Iskandar
Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.
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The Frankfurt police chief Gerhard Bereswill had not mentioned these cases on Wednesday. He had only spoken of the 20 criminal proceedings that had already been reported by the Frankfurt public prosecutor at the time. Interior Minister Peter Beuth (CDU) also did not announce the extent already known on Thursday when he announced the dissolution of the SEK.
Upon request, the public prosecutor's office confirmed that the suspicion had originally been directed against a larger group of suspects. These include both other SEK officials and Hessian law enforcement officers. After examining the facts, the 20 officials, who are now under criminal investigation, were found to be criminally liable. As is customary in such proceedings, the other cases were handed over to the appropriate police headquarters for internal punishment through disciplinary proceedings. It is unclear how intensively these investigations will be conducted and whether they will also fall under the responsibility of the new special investigator Stefan Müller.