A German court in Koblenz reopened on Monday a trial against the far-right extremist organization Aktionsbüro Mittelrhein.

The trial, dubbed one of the largest against neo-Nazis in the country, had been suspended indefinitely in May 2017 after the presiding judge, Hans-Georg Göttgen, retired.

The details:

The trial began in 2012 with 26 defendants. The 900-page indictment included charges such as membership of a banned organization, assault and property damage.

Despite more than 317 trial dates in five years, the court was unable to arrive to a verdict.

The court last year decided to provisionally close the case ahead of the judge's impending retirement.

One of the reasons offered by the court for not appointing a new judge was that the likely punishment against the defendants would not be worth the enormous legal effort needed.

Prosecutors successfully filed a complaint against the court's decision, effectively restarting the trial.

The new trial will start from scratch since German law does not allow a judge to be appointed to a case in progress.

Chronicle of the NSU murders A mysterious string of murders For years, neo-Nazis of the right-wing organization National Socialist Underground (NSU) killed people across Germany. The suspects: Uwe Mundlos, Uwe Böhnhardt (center) and Beate Zschäpe. Their victims: eight people of Turkish origin, one Greek man and a German policewoman. Their motive: xenophobia. Until 2011, the German public was not aware of the scope of their crimes.

Chronicle of the NSU murders Unsuccessful bank robbery The murder spree was uncovered on November 4, 2011, when Mundlos and Böhnhardt robbed a bank in the east German town of Eisenach. For the first time, they failed. Police officers surrounded the caravan in which the two men were holed up. A later investigation concluded that Mundlos first shot and killed Böhnhardt, then set the caravan on fire and killed himself.

Chronicle of the NSU murders Zschäpe turns herself in Shortly after the death of Böhnhardt and Mundlos there was an explosion at Frühlingsstraße 26 in Zwickau, in the state of Saxony. Beate Zschäpe lived at that address together with the two bank robbers. Zschäpe allegedly set the house on fire to destroy evidence. Four days later, she turned herself in to the police. The terror suspect has been custody since that day.

Chronicle of the NSU murders The truth comes out In the ruins of the Zwickau flat, police officers found a self-made video in which the terror cell claimed responsibility under the name of the NSU, the National-Socialist Underground. The 15-minute video shows crime scenes and pictures of the victims killed by the right-wing terrorist group between 2000 and 2007.

Chronicle of the NSU murders NSU claim responsibility Famous cartoon character The Pink Panther hosts the amateur video, which is full of slogans of hatred against people with an immigrant background and which mocks the murder victims. Before her arrest, Zschäpe allegedly sent out copies of the video in which the NSU claimed responsibility for the crimes.

Chronicle of the NSU murders Verbal slip-ups Until 2011, the term "döner murders" was frequently used when reporting about the killings. Nothing was known about the connection between the individual cases, nor about the motive. There were rumors the victims were linked to the drug scene. But the NSU's video left no doubt. The term "döner murders" was chosen as Germany's "Unwort des Jahres" (doublespeak of the year) in 2011.

Chronicle of the NSU murders NSU also behind Cologne pipe bomb "The findings made by our security authorities so far show no indication of a terrorist background, but of a criminal milieu," said German Interior Minister Otto Schily on June 10, 2004. A day earlier, a pipe bomb explosion in Cologne left 22 people injured and many shops damaged. In 2011, it became clear: the NSU’s right-wing terrorists were also behind the Cologne bombing.

Chronicle of the NSU murders Memorial service in Berlin On February 23, 2012, Germany commemorated the victims. At the ceremony at a Berlin concert hall, the focus was on the relatives of the victims. Semiya Simsek (right), the daughter of the murdered flower stand owner Enver Simsek, gave an emotional speech. German Chancellor Angela Merkel made an official apology to the victims and promised them that all questions would be answered.

Chronicle of the NSU murders Memorial for Mehmet Kubasik "Dortmund is a colorful, tolerant and welcoming town – and opposes right-wing extremism!" This statement was made by mayor Ullrich Sierau at the unveiling of the memorial stone for NSU victim Mehmet Kubasik in September 2012. The memorial was set up just meters away from the kiosk in which Kubasik was killed on April 4, 2006.

Chronicle of the NSU murders Solidarity with the victims On November 4, 2012, exactly a year after the terror cell was uncovered, people in many German cities staged solidarity demonstrations against right-wing extremism. The protesters called for thorough investigations into the racially motivated murders - which in their view was not happening fast enough.

Chronicle of the NSU murders Beate Zschäpe lone survivor Believed to be the last survivor of the NSU trio, Beate Zschäpe went on trial in May 2013.Over 800 witnesses were heard. Zschäpe did not speak for the first two and a half years of the trial.

Chronicle of the NSU murders Life sentence Beate Zschäpe was given a life sentence for her role in the killings. She was found guilty of joint complicity in 10 counts of murder, arson, robbery, extortion, the formation of a terrorist organization and membership in a terrorist organization. Four others at the trial are also accused of helping the NSU. Author: Anna Peters / nh



What is the Aktionsbüro Mittelrhein?

The neo-Nazi group is a far-right extremist organization that favors a German state based "on the model of the National Socialist regime." It called its headquarters in Ahrweiler the "Brown House," the same name used for the headquarters of the Nazi Party in Munich.

The group is believed to have targeted and assaulted leftist activists, defaced public property with Nazi symbols and attacked housing communes.

Read more: Revolution Chemnitz: Why a German neo-Nazi group was charged with terrorism

What happens next?

German prosecutors will once again have to build up a case against the remaining 17 defendants, including some who were detained during the first trial. At least 90 trial dates have been scheduled until the end of 2019.

Read more: The faces behind Germany's far-right protests

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