Munich court hears Beate Zschäpe over possible early release

Beate Zschäpe, the far-right terrorist serving a life sentence, was questioned by the Munich Higher Regional Court on Thursday over a possible early release, BR reported. Relatives of victims of the National Socialist Underground, or NSU, murders reacted angrily.

A court spokeswoman confirmed to BR that Zschäpe had been brought from Chemnitz prison to Munich for a non-public hearing. The hearing concerned the setting of the minimum period she must serve before a possible early release can be considered.

The Munich Higher Regional Court sentenced Zschäpe to life in prison in July 2018, among other things as an accomplice in the murders of 10 people carried out by the NSU terrorist group. The group committed two of its racist murders in Munich and three in Nuremberg. The court also found that Zschäpe was guilty of a particularly serious degree of culpability, which normally rules out early release after about 15 years.

Zschäpe’s lawyer, Mathias Grasel, told BR months ago that she was nevertheless seeking early release. She is also taking part in a programme for people leaving the neo-Nazi scene, which could potentially have a positive effect on the length of her imprisonment.

Relatives of NSU murder victims, including the daughters of murdered Munich small-business owner Theodorus Boulgarides, have sharply criticised Zschäpe’s participation in the programme. They said she had not helped clarify the murder series during the five-year trial in Munich or afterwards, and that many questions about the NSU remained unanswered. In their view, her release could not be justified unless she helped answer them.

Mandy and Michaela Boulgarides also expressed outrage that they had not been informed about Thursday’s hearing by the justice authorities and had learned about it from journalists instead.

“The fact that our legal system does not provide for those affected and relatives to be informed leaves me speechless and stunned once again,” Michaela Boulgarides wrote in an online post. Her sister Mandy wrote sarcastically that, after years of “clarification”, “remembrance” and “responsibility”, the families apparently remained important only when it suited the political narrative. “We have every right to be informed and involved,” she wrote.

The same criminal division of the Munich Higher Regional Court that convicted Zschäpe is responsible for examining a possible early release. It questioned her on Thursday about whether such an examination would take place at all and when it might begin. The court spokeswoman said it remained completely unclear when a decision would be issued.

Zschäpe has been in custody since November 2011, almost 15 years. Her release after 15 years is considered highly unlikely.