German prosecutors have found Nazi symbols in the group chat of five police officers, according to a Tuesday report by Euronews.
The officers were also found to have been in possession of child pornography during their training.
The officers are aged 22 and 25. Three of them belong to the police headquarters in Recklinghausen. Another belongs to the police authorities in Kleve and the other to the police authorities in Borken.
This is the second such incident in recent months. In fact, the group chat was uncovered during the investigation of another, now former officer, who was charged with both exchanging far-Right hate symbols in message chats and possessing and distributing child pornography.
In a statement, the police chief of Recklinghausen, Friederike Zurhausen, highlighted the severity of the charges.
“The allegations shocked me. In criminal law, the presumption of innocence also applies here,” Zurhausen began. “Nevertheless, the allegations are so serious that after examining each individual case, I immediately banned the three officers from conducting official business.”
Germany prohibits Nazi speech
Germany has strict laws regarding Nazi propaganda. It is illegal to deny the Holocaust or spread the Nazi ideology. This applies both online and in public spaces and can be applied in numerous ways including to Nazi uniforms, symbols, and statements.
According to Euronews, the five officers violated these laws during their training, at the same time they reportedly possessed the child pornography. The training was a part of their dual bachelor’s degree.
“Anyone who disseminates [this kind of content] raises considerable doubts about his character suitability,” said Herbert Reul, the Interior Minister of the German state of Nord Rhine-Westphalia.
Still, reportedly, German police having connections to Nazism hasn’t been very uncommon in recent history.
In the last six years alone, there have been 105 incidents of right-wing extremist behavior that have resulted in a penalty or suspension in the North Rhine-Westphalian police.
This trend has been reflected by far-Right violence in German society. 2019 and 2020 saw multiple far-Right extremist terror attacks.
