German officials vow to solve neo-Nazi murders

German officials vow to solve neo-Nazi murders

Davutoğlu visited the homes of Enver Şimşek and Abdurrahim Özüdoğru in Hessen, one day after his meeting with Hessen State Prime Minister Bouffier.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, who is currently in Germany on a five-day visit, said German officials have given their word that they will do their best to solve the murder cases of at least nine immigrants believed to be perpetrated by a neo-Nazi ring.

Davutoğlu said, speaking after a meeting with Hessen State Prime Minister Volker Bouffier on Friday, that Germany will be guaranteeing that they will prevent activities of extreme right gangs, do whatever it takes to shed light on the murders and do everything so that Turkish immigrants can feel secure in Germany.

Davutoğlu, who arrived in Germany on Thursday for a five-day visit, also met with the families of some of the Turkish citizens who were killed by a neo-Nazi crime gang.

Davutoğlu visited the homes of Enver Şimşek and Abdurrahim Özüdoğru in Hessen, one day after his meeting with Hessen State Prime Minister Bouffier. Davutoğlu arrived in the city of Friedberg in the morning to meet with Şimşek’s daughter Semiya Şimşek and son Kerim Şimşek at the family’s house. Some other relatives of the family were also present during the meeting.

Speaking to journalists after the visit, Kerim Şimşek said they were very happy to have the minister visit them. “Our minister came here; he listened to us. He said he will help us [with the legal process]. God bless our minister. He has taken interest in this. This shows that the Turkish state is standing by us, not leaving us alone.” He said Davutoğlu promised to do all that he could to make sure that those behind the murders are brought to justice. Enver Şimşek was killed 11 years ago. He was one of at least nine foreigners killed by a neo-Nazi terror group over the past decade, whose murders were not linked to the gang until very recently. The investigation also revealed links between the extreme right terrorists and Germany’s national intelligence department, creating a political scandal in Germany.

Kerim Şimşek said his family expected to receive compensation from Germany both for physical and emotional damage. He said Germany’s embarrassment over racism did not amount to an apology.

“We are not alone any more,” said Semiya Şimşek. “Now we know what to tell our children about our father’s death,” she said, adding that an anti-racism demonstration was planned in the city of Kassel on Dec. 10.

Davutoğlu also visited the Özüdoğru family, where he talked with the deceased’s spouse Gönül Özüdoğru and daughter Tülin Özüdoğru. Press members weren’t allowed to take pictures at either meeting.

Germany’s neo-Nazi murderers were found out only when two of them, who were wanted in relation to a bank robbery, killed themselves and another turned herself in, fearing she would not be able to get away. This is how the German police were able to link a series of murders to the terrorists for the first time in a decade. German officials have said they fear there were more murders perpetrated by the same gang. All suspicious immigrant deaths have been reopened. The initial investigation revealed that Germany’s intelligence agency had been watching every move by the group and probably knew about the murders.

In a related development, the foreign ministry announced that Davutoğlu will attend an international conference on Afghanistan to take place in Bonn on Dec. 5.

A Foreign Ministry statement said that Davutoğlu will represent Turkey in the conference and brief the participants on Turkey’s contributions to Afghanistan, including the “İstanbul process” on regional security and cooperation for a secure and stable Afghanistan, adopted at the İstanbul Conference on Afghanistan on Nov. 2.

More than 90 countries as well as representatives from the United Nations, NATO, European Union, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Economic Cooperation Organization, and the World Bank have been invited to the conference.

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