“German Extremist Lina E. Sentenced to Over Five Years in Prison for Participation in Violent Group Targeting Neo-Nazis”

• Charlotte Waaijers

  correspondent Germany

She was led into the court in Dresden this morning to loud applause from the audience: Lina E, a heroine for some of the left-wing radicals in Germany. The judge clearly sees it differently, and sentenced the 28-year-old extremist to more than five years in prison for participating in a violent, criminal organization that took the law into its own hands in the fight against neo-Nazis.

Since the German was arrested in 2020 and cameras captured how she was dropped off in court with handcuffs, interest in her case has been great. It fuels the discussion about what is permissible in tackling right-wing extremism and raises the question of whether left-wing extremists are radicalising.

The German police and judiciary have not acted successfully enough against right-wing extremism in recent decades, that is correct, says political scientist Hajo Funke. “Part of this left-wing extremism could have been prevented if extreme right-wing excrescences had been tackled better,” he thinks. Funke emphatically adds that he does not approve of the violence.

From 2018 until her arrest in 2020, Lina E., together with various accomplices, formed a group that violently attacked people at least six times; neo-Nazis or people they suspected were neo-Nazis. They used hammers, extendable batons and pepper spray-like gases.

One of those victims is a member of a right-wing extremist criminal organization, another owns a bar that is said to be home to right-wing extremists. That man is also the founder of a neo-Nazi gang. Another investigation is underway against that group, because the aim would be to kill people in the left-wing extremist corner.

In addition to Lina E, who is seen as the captain, three others stood trial today. According to the German internal security service, they acted as ‘violent autonomouss’. They worked together as a group and would not have felt bound by the rules of the German rule of law and democracy.

There are no estimates of the extent of left- and right-wing extremism in Germany. The Ministry of the Interior does keep figures on politically motivated crime: in the right corner, more than three times as many crimes were registered in the past year as in the left corner, where that number has also decreased considerably compared to the year before. But such figures say nothing about the nature and seriousness of the crimes.

According to German Minister Faeser, the trial against Lina E. shows that left-wing extremists who are prepared to use violence pose a “considerable danger”: “Our security services keep a close eye on left-wing extremism and will continue to act consistently. In a democratic state under the rule of law, are no place for vigilantes. We fight right-wing extremism with vigilant and strong authorities.”

Left-wing crimes are usually demonstrations that get out of hand, but the case of Lina E. is an example of a new development, according to the homeland security service. “Clandestine groups have been forming for some time within the violence-oriented movement that isolate themselves and attack their political opponents with extreme brutality and after careful planning,” said Thomas Haldenwang, chief of the security service.

Haldenwang points out that the left radicals are now attacking their victims in their private spheres or at work. “There are hardly any limits to the violence, the brakes are loose and it is fortunate that so far no deaths have occurred.”

Although there is discussion within the radical left movement about whether the end justifies all means and certainly not everyone approves of the brute force, there is open support for Lina E. In her hometown of Leipzig, the ‘Free Lina’ graffiti can be found on walls to the street scene and even after today’s court ruling, the hashtag #FreeLina was circulating on Twitter. In addition, quotes could be read such as: whoever fights against Nazis cannot count on the state.

Meanwhile, German authorities in several cities are bracing for upcoming demonstrations and reprisals. Next Saturday has been declared ‘Day X’ by left-wing extremists, protest day.

On Indymedia, a left-wing radical platform, there has been a call since February: to cause a million euros in damage for every year in prison that Lina E. and other ‘anti-fascists’ receive. It is not clear where exactly, but suggestions are made: to ‘neo-Nazi structures’, but also to state institutions, ‘oppression authorities’ and companies that work with them. Otherwise, be creative yourself.