Ferat Koçak admits contacts with the Remmo clan – no consequences within the party

Since the evening of the Berlin election, Ferat Koçak has regularly made headlines. The stir surrounding the Bundestag member is particularly affecting his Berlin regional association in its attempt to form a government in the capital with the SPD and the Greens. First, a photo with the Hamas activist Ibrahim Ibrahim became public, later even the son of clan boss Issa Remmo came forward and posted chat histories in which Koçak wrote: “Greet your father with respect.” The Remmo clan is known in Berlin for serious crimes such as stealing a gold coin from a museum.

In this situation, the Neukölln member of the Bundestag actually wanted to withdraw from the public and create transparency. At a press conference, the two parliamentary group leaders of the Left faction in the Bundestag said they wanted to wait for Koçak's report and then discuss further consequences.

On Wednesday evening, Koçak published the chat history with Remmo's son in "Zeit" and also wanted to clarify his contacts with Hamas supporter Ibrahim Ibrahim. At the beginning of this year, Koçak and Remmo's son met.

After police confiscated cell phones from Antifa members, Ferat Koçak asked on Instagram if anyone had a cell phone to hand over. Issa Remmo's son spoke up in the comments and Koçak started writing to him. He “swears on everything” that he didn’t know who he was dealing with, said Koçak. Only at the arranged meeting to hand over the cell phone did Koçak say he realized who he was dealing with: he knew Issa Remmo from the media.

But the Neukölln MP maintains contact with the Remmo family. He only rejected a wedding invitation from Remmo's son because he was ill - and wrote to Remmo: "I kiss your heart, brother. Greetings to the family."

Last year, Koçak met Hamas activist Ibrahim Ibrahim at an event organized by the Neukölln Left. He said he didn't know him at the time. The photo at the election party on September 20th was taken because he “did not connect Mr. Ibrahim’s name and face at that moment.” Koçak announced that he would give up his seat on the Bundestag's Interior Committee.

Although Koçak reveals in his report that he deliberately did not break off contact with the Remmo clan and did not recognize the Hamas activist Ibrahim Ibrahim despite multiple encounters, the Berlin member of the Bundestag does not have to face any consequences. The parliamentary group leader of the Left, Sören Pellmann, told “Politico” that they would “not discuss any further consequences.”

This means Koçak can keep his Bundestag mandate and remains part of the left-wing Bundestag faction. “In one of the next meetings” it will be clarified which committee he will work in in the future and who should succeed Koçak in the Interior Committee. His party leaders previously wrote in an internal message, which WELT has received, that party members should be cautious when making statements about Koçak. The Left chairmen Ines Schwerdtner and Luigi Pantisano said that Koçak was “outside the suspicion of organized crime”.