Investigators in northwestern Germany have uncovered instances of police officers sharing Nazi imagery and child pornography in group chats during their training, Euronews has reported.
Authorities have suspended them from duty and warned of the rise of radical ideas among young police officers.
German prosecutors discovered messages of illegal content in chats involving five officers from three different police districts, including Nazi symbols.
These violations were revealed as a result of investigations in the North Rhine-Westphalia region.
According to Annnet Milk, the lead prosecutor in the investigation, the five individuals aged between 22 and 25 are suspected of exchanging Nazi symbols in chats and possessing child pornography during their training.
Three of the accused belong to the Recklinghausen police department, while one each is from the police departments in Kleve and Borken.
Chat records were discovered during an investigation into a sixth suspect, according to Milk. The former police officer has been charged by the prosecution for exchanging extremist symbols in chats, as well as possession and distribution of child pornography. He worked in the police headquarters after completing his training.
Last week, searches were conducted in the homes of three police personnel.
"The charges have shocked me. The presumption of innocence applies here as well in criminal law. However, the charges are so serious that after considering each specific case, I have immediately prohibited these three personnel from engaging in official duties," stated Friederike Zurhausen, the chief of police in Recklinghausen.
Herbert Reul, the Minister of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia, described these personnel as exhibiting character and moral flaws unacceptable for officers in uniform.
"Distribution of such materials raises serious doubts about the moral suitability of such individuals. Hence, the four issued bans on official duty and their internal application are the correct consequences at this moment," his statement read.
Reul insists that young police personnel, like their seniors, bear the same responsibility for their actions.
"Young civil servants, like their senior colleagues, must unequivocally stand up for justice, law, and the values of our constitution," he continued.
Germany's legislation explicitly prohibits Holocaust denial and the spread of Nazi propaganda both on the internet and in public forums. This includes distributing images of the swastika, wearing SS uniforms, and expressing support for Hitler.
The law also imposes strict rules whereby social media companies must moderate hate speech and report threats.
Several acts of terrorism committed by far-right individuals in 2019 and early 2020 prompted German authorities to warn of escalating extremism, leading to a tightening of the law on hate speech last year.
This is not the first time that the German police have faced such a scandal. As of the end of July, the Ministry reported that over the last six years, the North Rhine-Westphalia police department uncovered 105 cases of right-wing extremist behavior.
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