11 July 2018•Update: 11 July 2018
By Sinan Uslu
ANKARA
A top Turkish presidential aide on Wednesday slammed a German court's sentences for the neo-Nazi NSU murders, calling them "far from satisfactory."
In a written statement, Ibrahim Kalin decried the killing of 10 people -- eight of them of Turkish origin -- via various bombing attacks and armed robberies by the neo-Nazi National Socialist Underground (NSU) terror group.
On neo-Nazi Beate Zschaepe getting life in prison while four other suspects got lighter sentences, Kalin said: "This verdict is far from satisfactory. Also, the families of the victims have been bedeviled by facing prejudices and baseless allegations since the initial phase of the case. This situation has also offended the Turkish community in Germany."
Until 2011, Germany’s police and intelligence services ruled out any racial motive for the murders and instead treated immigrant families as suspects, questioning them over alleged connections with mafia groups and drug traffickers.
Kalin said such cases are a "sincerity test" for all of Europe, especially Germany, and added: "Unfortunately, Germany has failed the sincerity test by not taking a strong enough stance against racism and racists in the NSU case."
Kalin further urged German authorities and Germany as well as Europe to combat racisms without compromise.
Munich's Higher Regional Court sentenced Zschaepe to life in prison over membership in the NSU terrorist group and complicity in the murders of 10 people and two bomb attacks.
The neo-Nazi NSU killed eight Turkish immigrants, a Greek citizen, and a German policewoman between 2000 and 2007, but the murders remained long unsolved. The group also carried out bomb attacks targeting shops owned by immigrants in Cologne.
Reporting by Sinan Uslu:Writing by Merve Aydoğan
