Verdict due in German trial of far-right 'Last Defense Wave' group

A German court is poised to issue a verdict in the trial of individuals accused of belonging to the far-right extremist group 'Letzte Verteidigungswelle' (Last Defense Wave). The State Security Senate of the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court will announce its judgment on Wednesday.

The prosecution alleges that the group, whose members were between 14 and 21 years old when the offenses occurred, carried out and planned violent attacks. Targets reportedly included asylum seeker accommodations and left-wing organizations. The charges against the seven alleged members and one supporter are severe, encompassing attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, arson, and aggravated assault.

Further complicating the case, the defendants are also accused of engaging in 'pedo-hunting,' a form of vigilantism targeting individuals they suspected of being pedophiles. Due to the young age of the defendants at the time of the alleged crimes, the public was excluded from proceedings after the indictment was read in March. Consequently, the closing arguments from both the federal prosecutor's office and the defense were held behind closed doors.

Many of the accused were arrested in May of the previous year during large-scale raids across Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, and Hessen. Three were already in pre-trial detention at that time. Searches had previously taken place in Saxony and Thuringia. The investigation has continued to expand, with authorities conducting searches in several states and arresting two more youths in Thuringia as suspected members of the group just weeks before the trial began.