New study reveals failure of investigation into NSU murder case

New study reveals failure of investigation into NSU murder case

Professor Dr. Charlotte Schmitt-Leonardy from Bielefeld University is part of an interdisciplinary research group that deals with the police and judicial investigation into the NSU murder of Süleyman Taşköprü. The murder took place on June 27, 2001 in Hamburg. This study is commissioned by the Hamburg citizenship and aims to understand the missed opportunities for clarification and the systematic deficits of the investigations at the time. Society must learn from the past to minimize the risk of recurrence, explains Dr. Schmitt Leonardy.

The research group consists of members from diverse academic institutions from Bochum, Berlin, Bielefeld and Konstanz. Her focus is on the organizational and social factors that led to the investigative authorities' misjudgments. The NSU, a right-wing extremist terrorist group, is one of the most serious series of murders in German history, with nine racially motivated murders of entrepreneurs with a migrant background being carried out between 2000 and 2006. Eight of these victims came from Turkey and one from Greece.

The NSU murder series

The NSU murder series is also referred to as the “Kebab Murders” or “Bosporus Murder Series,” terms that have been criticized as misleading and discriminatory. The murders took place over a period of six years, without any regular rhythm. They began with the murder of Enver Şimşek on September 9, 2000 in Nuremberg and ended with the murder of Halit Yozgat on April 6, 2006 in Kassel. The victims often worked in small shops and were systematically persecuted based on their origins.

For years, the investigations focused almost exclusively on the victims and their environment, while the motives of the right-wing extremist perpetrators were hardly taken into account. Critics, especially relatives of the victims, criticized this one-sided perspective. There were over 3,500 leads and 11,000 people to check in the investigation, but the crucial lead remained unknown until the NSU exposed itself in 2011.

Investigations and processing

The main actors of the NSU, Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Böhnhardt, committed suicide on November 4, 2011, while Beate Zschäpe turned herself in to the police on November 8, 2011. Zschäpe was charged in the NSU trial starting in May 2013, along with four alleged aides. Ultimately, all five were convicted in July 2018, with Zschäpe receiving a life sentence.

After the NSU was exposed as a right-wing extremist group, the murders previously classified as “kebab murders” were classified as racially motivated acts. In the years that followed, there were numerous public protests and memorial events to commemorate the victims. Memorial plaques were installed at various locations where the murders took place, with some of these locations being vandalized between 2010 and 2018.

The interdisciplinary research group, the Dr. Schmitt-Leonardy is evaluating all available files, documents and data sets in order to draw a comprehensive picture of the failed investigations and to develop preventative measures for the future. A parliamentary advisory board accompanies the project to ensure that the research results are given the necessary political significance.