BERLIN — German police on Wednesday arrested five young people allegedly connected to an extreme-right terrorist cell that planned violent attacks on migrants and left-wing groups.
The suspects are accused of adhering to an extremist group calling itself “Last Wave of Defense.” Prosecutors say they plotted arson and explosives attacks on homes for asylum-seekers as well as buildings used by leftist groups.
“Their aim is to bring about the collapse of the democratic system in the Federal Republic of Germany through acts of violence, primarily against migrants and political opponents,” the prosecutors said in a statement.
The arrests come a day after German authorities warned that extreme-right crimes in Germany surged by nearly 50 percent last year as “politically motivated” offenses reached a record high. In particular, German officials warn of increasing radicalization of young people.
“We have to realize that in society as a whole, and among a share of young people, we see a shift to the right and an increase in the acceptance of violence,” said Holger Münch, the head of Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office, on Tuesday.
The five suspects arrested Wednesday are juveniles, according to prosecutors. Two of the suspects are 15, reported a German public broadcaster. Two of those arrested face charges of attempted murder and are accused of setting fire to a cultural center in the eastern German state of Brandenburg in October of last year. Several people were present at the time but remained unharmed, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Two other people are accused of smashing a window of a shelter for asylum-seekers in the eastern German state of Thuringia earlier this year. They then attempted to shoot pyrotechnics into the building, according to the prosecutor’s statement. The two suspects also painted swastikas on the wall of the shelter and displayed the so-called Hitler salute.
Four of those arrested Wednesday are accused of membership in a right-wing extremist terrorist organization, while one of the youths is charged with acting to support the cell.
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