German court rejects woman’s appeal over neo-Nazi murder spree

Germany’s top court on Monday rejected an appeal by the only known survivor of a far-right group against her conviction and life sentence for her part in the killing of 10 people, most with migrant roots.

The Federal Constitutional Court ruled that Beate Zschaepe had failed to demonstrate that her fundamental judicial rights had been violated.

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A Munich regional court found Zschaepe guilty in 2018 of 10 counts of murder for her role in the National Socialist Underground group’s killing of nine men — eight of Turkish origin and one of Greek — as well as a police officer between 2000 and 2007.

She was also convicted of membership in a terrorist organization, participating in two bomb attacks and more than a dozen bank robberies, and of attempted murder for setting fire to the group’s hideout after its existence came to light.

Although Zschaepe denied having been present for any of the killings, the court concluded she was involved in planning each one. Her two accomplices, Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Boehnhardt, were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide in 2011 following a botched robbery.

She took her case to the constitutional court after Germany’s Federal Court of Justice rejected her appeal last year.