Politicians among possible targets on hit lists found by German police

BERLIN • German officials have found lists with over 5,000 names of possible targets, including more than 100 politicians, during raids on the homes and workplaces of two terrorism suspects in the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern last week, Die Welt newspaper reported.

The newspaper, citing security sources, said one of the suspects, a policeman who has since been suspended, is believed to have used his office computer to search for the addresses of political opponents.

German police, on Aug 28, raided the homes and workplaces of the policeman and another person suspected of planning to capture and kill politicians because of their views on immigration, the authorities said.

The newspaper report last Friday marked the first time that substantial details about the case have emerged.

At the time, the federal prosecutor's office said the suspects, who feared Germany's refugee policies would impoverish the country, had begun to stockpile food and ammunition and plan attacks.

The newspaper said there were no indications, thus far, of surveillance of the people on the lists or of any concrete murder plans.

Much of the information was publicly available, the paper cited the sources as saying.

Federal police officials seized two binders filled with names of more than 5,000 people during searches of the properties of one of the suspects, an attorney and a local politician in Rostock, a northern city.

It said the politicians on the list belonged to a wide range of parties, including Chancellor Angela Merkel's Conservatives.

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on September 10, 2017, with the headline Politicians among possible targets on hit lists found by German police. Subscribe