Left demands NSU investigative committee in Hamburg for report
A report from the Bundestag strengthens the left in Hamburg in calling for an NSU investigative committee instead of a research project.
Quick Look
- Following a report from the Bundestag, the Hamburg Left is once again calling for an NSU investigative committee.
- In contrast to researchers, a committee has a constitutionally guaranteed right to inspect files.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The NSU murdered ten people between 2000 and 2007. Süleyman Taşköprü was shot dead in Hamburg in 2001.
The left in the Hamburg parliament sees itself strengthened by a report in its call for an NSU investigative committee. Hamburg is the only federal state in which the right-wing terrorist NSU committed murders and in which the acts were not investigated by a parliamentary investigative committee. Instead, a research project will take care of the processing.
According to the Left Party in Hamburg, the Scientific Service of the German Bundestag has now established that an investigative committee has more extensive rights to inspect files than a research project.
“A research project is not a replacement for a committee of inquiry,” concluded domestic policy spokesman Deniz Celik. “Researchers are dependent on a discretionary decision, while a committee of inquiry has a constitutionally guaranteed right to submit files.”
Dispute over access to files
Recently, researchers encountered resistance in their efforts to access files. The Federal Prosecutor General had rejected a request to inspect the files, as a spokeswoman there confirmed at the end of June. The citizens and the research group then submitted an application for a court decision to the Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court.
Celik ruled that the Scientific Service clearly states that an investigative committee has a stronger and more far-reaching legal position compared to the Federal Prosecutor's Office.
NSU murder in Hamburg 25 years ago
The Hamburg greengrocer Süleyman Taşköprü was shot by the NSU 25 years ago - on June 27, 2001 - in the fruit and vegetable shop he ran with his father in Hamburg-Bahrenfeld. The 31-year-old left behind his wife and a small daughter. The NSU murdered nine men of Turkish and Greek origin and a policewoman between 2000 and 2007.
The security authorities had not recognized the connection between the crimes for a long time and initially investigated the victims' surroundings. Only after the NSU self-disclosure was the actual connection revealed. The research project commissioned by the citizenry, like the investigative committees of other federal states, is also intended to deal with official failures.
Open Questions
- How will the Hamburg citizens react to the report?
