Germany Seeks Public Help in Neo-Nazi Probe

Posted December 1st, 2011 at 5:35 pm (UTC-5)
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German authorities have asked for the public's help in their investigation into a neo-Nazi group suspected of killing 10 people since 2000.

The head of the federal police investigation on Thursday asked Germans for information on anyone connected with the far-right National Socialist Underground . The official says more than 400 officers are currently working on the case.

Nine immigrant shopkeepers — eight of Turkish origin and one of Greek origin — as well as a German policewoman were killed during the alleged NSU murder spree.

Police have been criticized for being unaware of the National Socialist Underground group until last month, when two members died in a suspected murder-suicide and a third member turned herself into police.

Authorities believe there may be a link between the far-right group and the radical, anti-immigration National Democratic Party . They say a suspected accomplice arrested this week indicates a clear connection to the neo-Nazi NPD.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel last month called the killings right-wing terror and a “disgrace” for Germany, whose Nazi past makes right-wing militancy a particularly sensitive subject. The case has revived calls by political leaders, including Chancellor Merkel, to ban the NPD. Earlier efforts failed on legal grounds.