NSU slam on police: ‘State & Nazis hand in hand’ does not denigrate state

On the recently blogged criminialization of political anti-racist work, Migazin reports:

“What followed could not have come at a more embarrassing time for the Berlin State Criminal Police Office. On June 10, the Berlin public prosecutor’s office discontinued the criminal proceedings initiated by the police on the grounds of denigration of the state. The prosecution assesses the disputed statement [Staat und Nazis Hand in Hand] as a permissible expression of opinion in the context of the findings on the NSU complex and emphasizes “that the phrase ‘state and Nazis hand in hand’ does not express an equation of the state with Nazis, but only denounces a close cooperation of the state with Nazis.”

This may be provocative and exaggerated, the public prosecutor’s office admits, but adds: “But against the background of the public debate about the role of state organs in connection with the NSU attacks and the topicality of this debate due to the ongoing trial in Munich against those involved in the NSU, as well as the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack in Cologne, the statement is nevertheless to be accepted as a permissible expression of opinion.””