The trial against the “military arm” of the alleged “Reich Citizens” group around Prince Reuss has begun in Stuttgart. Were their plans for a coup realistic? The question has accompanied the investigation from the beginning.
Major terrorism trials have a tradition in Stuttgart-Stammheim. At the end of the town thoroughfare you come across the huge judicial complex. On the left is the prison, on the 7th floor of which many RAF terrorists used to sit. In the middle is the old courthouse where they were tried decades ago. It will soon be demolished.
And on the right is the new high-security courtroom – the setting for the start of a series of trials against the suspected terrorist organization around Henry XIII. Prince Reuss, who is said to have planned a coup in Germany. Nine men are on trial in Stuttgart who, according to the indictment, were part of the group’s “military arm.”
Starting with high Safeguards
The early morning admission controls are dragging on, and the planned start at 9 a.m. has been postponed. Shortly after 10 a.m., in the large, wood-panelled and light-flooded hall, the defendants are led into the courtroom one by one. At the square, a police sergeant removes their handcuffs.
Relatives and acquaintances of the defendants sit in the audience. The defendants seek and make eye contact through the thick glass partitions between the hall and the auditorium. The defendants are also separated from their defense lawyers by glass partitions; contact is only possible via an intercom.
The judges come into the hall around 10:20 a.m. The chairman is Joachim Holzhausen.
Overthrow plans and militants “Homeland Security Companies”
The two representatives of the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, Michael Klemm and Kathrin Tandler, read out the indictment. The suspected terrorist organization planned a violent overthrow based on the ideology of the so-called “Reich Citizens” and, for example, wanted to storm the Bundestag.
The Stuttgart defendants are part of the “military arm” of the group led by Prince Reuss. The prosecution primarily accuses them of founding militant “homeland security companies” that were responsible for “cleansing” after the coup. Several “enemy lists” had already been created.
Shots at police officers during arrest
But would such a revolution have been realistic at all or would it have been just crazy? This idea accompanied the investigation from the beginning.
The investigators do not believe that the coup would have worked. But they are convinced that the first steps could have caused immense damage – in a group with former and one active elite soldier with an enormous arsenal of weapons (380 firearms, 350 cutting and stabbing weapons, 148,000 pieces of ammunition).
The case of Markus L. also plays an important role in the Stuttgart proceedings. He is also charged with attempted murder because he shot and injured police officers with weapons at hand during his arrest in Reutlingen.
Some defendants want to speak out
Around midday, some of the defendants stated that they wanted to comment on the allegations during the course of the trial. The defense attorney and the two female defense attorneys of the defendant Marco v. H. gave an opening statement in the afternoon. Among other things, they said: The indictment was “the construction of a terrorist organization.” A fair trial does not take place because the defense cannot communicate properly with its client.
In addition, there was prejudgment in the media. The taking of evidence will show that your client did not hoard any weapons, did not complete any shooting training and was not a “Reich citizen”. Rather, an attempt is being made to “put him in the right corner”.
Three parallel processes
The case has a special dimension, not only because of the specific allegations and the high number of defendants. The fact that a case against a suspected terrorist organization is divided into three trials is completely new territory for the German justice system. After the start in Stuttgart, the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt follows on May 21st and on June 18th. the Munich Higher Regional Court.
Why it is like that? A suitable courtroom for such a mammoth trial would have been difficult to find. Perhaps the space problem could have been solved somehow.
Challenge for everyone involved
In advance, the President of the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court, Andreas Singer, had argued that in a mammoth trial against 26 people, it was not possible to address each individual defendant well enough and do them justice. The proceedings were also separated in order to speed them up overall, said the representative of the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in the Stuttgart courtroom.
In any case, the defenders view this point very critically. A court can only determine the structure of a suspected new terrorist organization in a joint main hearing. Because they do not know exactly what is being heard in the other courtrooms, they cannot effectively defend their clients.
In any case, it will be necessary to introduce important results from one process into the other. How well this will work is an open question. The three parallel processes are new territory in this form and will be an immense challenge for everyone involved.