No. 72/2023
On Dec. 12, 2023 the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office filed charges amongst others on counts of suspected membership in a domestic terrorist organisation and preparation of a high treasonous undertaking before the 8th Senate for Criminal Matters (State Security Senate [Staatsschutzsenat]) of the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Frankfurt/Main. The indictment concerns nine persons suspected to be members of the terrorist organisation Maximilian E., Michael F., Johanna F.-J., Norbert G., Hans-Joachim H., Birgit M.-W., Heinrich XIII P.R., Rüdiger v.P., Peter W. and one person suspected to be a supporter of the terrorist organisation Vitalia B. For further information on the contents of the indictment please refer to press release no. 52 of the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (in German). In a press release in English dating Dec. 07, 2022 the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office informed about the arrest of the accused.
After the indictment, the so-called intermediate proceedings take place before the court. In the intermediate proceedings, the court assesses the charges and decides whether the indictment shall be admitted to the main proceedings. According to section 203 of the German Code of Criminal Procedure, the court decides to open the main proceedings, if, in the light of the results of the preparatory proceedings, there appear to be sufficient grounds to suspect that the accused has committed an offence. This is the case if a conviction is deemed more likely than an acquittal.
Usually the intermediate proceedings take several months. In a first step, the accused get the opportunity to respond to the charges pressed against them.
The Court will inform the public about the outcome of the intermediate proceedings in a press release. If the Senate decides to open the main proceedings, the Court will provide further information on the main proceedings in a separate press release, especially regarding venue and scheduled dates for the court hearings as well as arrangements for the accreditation process. Please understand that at this early stage such questions cannot be answered.
Higher Regional Court Frankfurt/Main, 8 St 2/23
English version: deputy spokeswoman Dr. Kerstin Wierse