Relatives of the victims murdered by Germany’s far-right National Socialist Underground (NSU) terrorist group have demanded that convicted member Beate Zschaepe be removed from a state-funded de-extremization program.
The families of Enver Şimşek, Theodoros Boulgarides, and Mehmet Kubaşık—three of the ten victims, eight of whom were Turkish—submitted a petition with more than 150,000 signatures to the Bundestag. Speaking before the handover, Gamze Kubaşık said, “We want justice. We want this state to take responsibility.” Semiya Şimşek added, “My pain grows each day. Those who helped murder my father still walk free.”
The families launched the petition in August after learning that Zschaepe, sentenced to life imprisonment for her role in the NSU killings between 2000 and 2007, was admitted to a neo-Nazi exit program.