Dresden (dpa / sn) - In the process of the alleged left-wing extremist Lina E. and three co-defendants, the key witness has had to answer questions from the defense since Wednesday. The 30-year-old educator is considered an accomplice in the group that is said to have targeted attacks on neo-Nazis. When he was questioned by the Senate of the Dresden Higher Regional Court (OLG) and the Federal Prosecutor's Office in the summer, he had incriminated the entire group. Among other things, he described that scenarios for attacks on neo-Nazis had been practiced regularly.
During his interrogation on Wednesday, the man admitted that he voluntarily turned himself in to the authorities in April of this year. He gets 1,500 euros a month through the witness protection program. That corresponds to his last net income as an educator in a daycare center in Warsaw. He hopes to one day be able to return to work after completing all the procedures, he said. No promises were made to him in return for his statements.
In the process, the student Lina E. (27), who comes from Kassel, and three men from Leipzig and Berlin are on trial. The federal prosecutor accuses them of beating up members of the right-wing scene in Leipzig, Wurzen and Eisenach between 2018 and 2020. They are also accused of forming a criminal organization, of which Lina E. is seen as the head. The defense considers this accusation to be fabricated and speaks of a "politicized procedure". All four have so far remained silent on the allegations.
Judge Hans Schlueter-Staats, chairman of the State Protection Senate at the Higher Regional Court, indicated that he would like to give the accused the opportunity to provide information about their personal circumstances in the coming week. That would bring the taking of evidence to an end.
