• Home /
• Statewatch Database /
• Germany: Berlin 5

Germany: Berlin 5

01 July 1994

The Berlin 5 are Kurdish and Turkish anti-fascists who have been charged with "premeditated collective murder and attempted murder" following clashes between anti-fascists and members of the far-right Deutsche Liga/Die Nationalen. The clashes took place in April 1992 in the Neukolln neighbourhood of Berlin, which has a large Kurdish and Turkish population, after anti- fascists discovered the venue of a far-right organisational meeting. The secretary of the far-right grouping, Gerhard Kaindl, died as a result of his injuries.

The attack on the meeting was carried out by unknown, masked anti-fascists, although the police quickly assumed - from information received from the Deutsche Liga - that the assailants were Turkish and Kurdish.

The Berlin 5 - Abidin Eraslan, Mehmet Ramme, Fatima Balamir, Erkan Sonmez and Bahzdin Yoldas - were arrested on the basis of a statement made by Erkan, who has a history of mental illness, that was retracted once he had access to a lawyer. Police are searching for another six people named in his statement.

The severity of the charges against the five, who are due to appear at a special court in September, has been contrasted with the treatment and sentences handed out to nazis involved in the avalanche of racist violence in Germany during 1991-92. Then, much of the fascist violence was attributed to a lost generation of (white) german youth suffering the effects of reunification; this attitude was frequently reflected in light sentences that were an insult to the victims of the attacks.

The Friends of the Berlin 5 are calling for an end to the trial and coordinating a campaign of support. They can be contacted at: International Solidarity Group c/o Kreuzburo Grosbeerenstr. 89, 10963 Berlin Germany. Tel 49-30-251 05 91.