• ‘This makes us feel worthless once again in Germany. Zschaepe, a criminal, is given more value than the victims,’ says Semiya, daughter of NSU terror group victim Enver Simsek
• Lawyer Seda Basay-Yildiz, who represented the victims’ families, says Zschaepe ‘never expressed genuine remorse or apologized in any meaningful way’ and ‘refused to answer any of our questions’

BERLIN

Germany’s decision to admit convicted neo-Nazi terrorist Beate Zschaepe into a deradicalization program has ignited fierce outrage in the country, reopening old wounds from one of its darkest chapters.

Zschaepe, a central figure in the far-right National Socialist Underground (NSU) terror group, is serving a life term for her role in a series of racist murders targeting immigrants. Sentenced in 2018 after a five-year trial, she recently gained entry to the EXIT rehabilitation program, which requires participants to renounce extremist ideology and express genuine remorse.

For the families of those killed, her acceptance is an insult that has left them feeling betrayed by the justice system.

“This makes us feel worthless once again in Germany,” said Semiya Simsek, daughter of Enver Simsek, a Turkish florist who was shot eight times at his roadside stall in Nuremberg on Sept. 9, 2000 and died two days later.

“Beate Zschaepe, a criminal, is given more value than the victims. No one cares what the victims’ families endured or what they’re asking for.”

Simsek and other families have launched a petition against Zschaepe’s possible early release, gathering 145,000 signatures so far. They argue she has never shown remorse, disclosed details about the network, or answered the questions that continue to haunt them.

“We believe Zschaepe’s application to this program is simply a strategic move to obtain her early release from prison. There’s no sincerity in her actions,” Simsek said.

“Throughout this entire process, she has consistently ignored our questions and shown absolutely no remorse … We cannot and will not accept this situation – that’s precisely why we launched this campaign.”

The NSU murdered 10 people between 2000 and 2007 – eight Turkish immigrants, a Greek citizen, and a German policewoman.

Yet until 2011, police dismissed racism as a motive and instead treated immigrant families as suspects. The group’s existence only came to light after two members, Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Bohnhardt, died in a botched bank robbery, revealing evidence of their crimes.

For Simsek, who was 14 when her father was killed, the case has exposed the depth of Germany’s racism problem and eroded her trust in the system.

“I don’t believe justice works properly anywhere. I’ve experienced this firsthand,” she said. “There seems to be a structure, a line, and the deep state turns a blind eye to all this.”

Unanswered questions and institutional failures

During the Munich trial, Zschaepe was found complicit in all murders, having planned attacks, provided support to members of the terror cell, and attempting to destroy evidence.

The court barred the possibility of parole before 15 years, citing “exceptional severity of the crimes,” and is expected to make a decision on the length of her sentence in November 2026.

Yet her participation in EXIT raises the prospect of earlier release, a possibility that alarms both families and legal experts.

Lawyer Seda Basay-Yildiz, who represented the victims’ families, said Zschaepe has never demonstrated remorse or cooperation.

“Frankly, I don’t find it very convincing. As you know, there were 438 days of hearings during the five-year trial in Munich. Zschaepe never expressed genuine remorse or apologized in any meaningful way,” she said.

“More importantly, she refused to answer any of our questions. For her rehabilitation to be credible, she would first need to address the questions we’ve been asking all along.”

Basay-Yildiz emphasized that many critical questions remain unanswered, including about how victims were selected – particularly how the group identified specific cities and individuals for their attacks across Germany, and who supplied this vital information.

“There are also many unanswered questions about the domestic intelligence agency, the BfV,” she said, noting that sensitive confidential documents regarding right-wing informants were shredded at the BfV headquarters immediately after news broke of the 2011 suicide of the NSU terrorists.

“Who knew what, and when? What kind of information was provided by the informants who were around this terror organization? What information wasn’t properly evaluated at the time? Could these murders have been prevented?” Basay-Yildiz asked.

Media investigations have revealed that the BfV and its regional branches employed multiple informants who maintained contact with NSU suspects throughout the late 1990s and 2000s.

Despite this evidence, officials maintain they had no prior knowledge of either the NSU terror cell’s existence or its involvement in the racist killings.

“There are so many questions related to the state … very deep matters that concern the state,” said Basay-Yildiz, stressing that they will continue to closely monitor Zschaepe and her legal team’s actions.

“Germany always positions itself as a country governed by the ‘rule of law’ and criticizes practices in other countries. Yet when it comes to their own actions, they’ve failed to answer any of these questions.”