Wiesbaden (dpa/lhe) - The chairman of the parliamentary committee of inquiry into the racially motivated murders in Hanau criticizes the blacking out of parts of the files by the Federal Public Prosecutor during the investigation work. SPD MP Marius Weiß (SPD) said on Tuesday in Wiesbaden that he had repeatedly contacted the federal prosecutor's office to seek an amicable solution to the blacking out. Because the transmission of unauthorized redactions is to be equated with a refusal to release files.
"This restricts the committee in fulfilling the investigative mandate given to it by Parliament," warned the committee chairman. After the Federal Public Prosecutor had refused to take back the blackening of parts of the file after a deadline set by the Committee, it has now been decided to take interim legal protection against the Federal Public Prosecutor before the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig.
"The aim of our application to the Federal Administrative Court is for the Federal Public Prosecutor to transmit his files to the investigative committee without redacting them," explained Weiß. This procedure only serves to clarify a legal issue and has no influence on the timing of the investigative committee's investigative work. This will continue as planned.
In fact, a 43-year-old German shot nine people for racist motives in Hanau on February 19, 2020. Then he killed his mother and himself. The investigative committee should clarify whether the authorities failed before, during and after the crime. The committee was constituted in mid-2021 and held its first public meeting in the Hessian state parliament in Wiesbaden at the beginning of December.
