The head of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has voiced doubts about claims that far-right mobs chased non-Germans during recent violent demonstrations in Chemnitz, clashing directly with Angela Merkel’s version of events.
Hans-Georg Maaßen said in an interview with the tabloid newspaper Bild that he had reason to believe “deliberate misinformation” had been spread.
“I share the scepticism towards media reports of rightwing extremists chasing down foreigners in Chemnitz,” he said. He had “no evidence to suggest that the video of this alleged incident circulating online is authentic”. He did not identify the video in question.
Officers from his Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) are reported to be trawling through evidence of the events in Chemnitz in late August, including hundreds of hours of film footage.
Far-right extremist groups rallied in Chemnitz after the fatal stabbing of a local man, allegedly by two refugees who are in police custody. The groups were joined by thousands of local people. Numerous participants shouted anti-foreigner slogans and held up their arms in illegal Nazi salutes.
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