Indictment Filed Against Three Members of a Criminal Organisation

Year of issue 2023
Date 21.07.2023

On 3 July 2023, the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against the German nationals

Enrico B.,
Matthias B. and
Annemarie K.

before the State Security Chamber of the Dresden Higher Regional Court.

There are sufficient grounds to suspect the accused of forming a criminal organisation and / or participating as members therein (section 129 para 1 sentence 1 of the German Criminal Code). In this context, they are also suspected of incitement of masses (section 130 paras. 1 - 3 of the German Criminal Code).

In essence, the indictment sets out the following facts:

In August 2018, Enrico B. and Annemarie K. formed an organisation with another person (the latter being investigated separately in his quality as ringleader), under the umbrella of the publishing house ‘Der Schelm’, which aimed to create a permanent distribution channel for the dissemination of hate-inciting publications. The publications contained predominately national socialist and anti-Semitic content inciting hatred against the Jewish population and denying the Holocaust. Matthias B. joined this group as a member no later than February 2019. Subsequently, the accused worked collaboratively and in exchange for remuneration for the organisation. Matthias B. created the infrastructure for the publications’ distribution, processed incoming orders and assigned tasks to other members of the group. In addition, he ordered the printing of publications on behalf of the organisation, worked as a graphic designer and edited manuscripts that had been submitted. Enrico B. and Annemarie K. were in charge of distribution and organised the publications’ shipment. They also rented storage facilities where they kept printed publications destined for distribution.

The organisation sold more than 46,000 publications with hate-inciting content, thereby generating revenue in excess of €800,000. Searches of the organisation’s storage facilities in December 2020 yielded more than 47,000 additional printed publications worth more than €900,000 which were intended to be sold.

Matthias B. and Enrico B. were arrested on 1 and 2 June 2022 (see Press Releases No. 36 of 1 June 2022 and No. 39 of 2 June 2022). The arrest warrant against Matthias B. was suspended on 1 July 2022 and the arrest warrant against Enrico B. was suspended on 22 August 2022.