Neo-Nazi case
February 22, 2012
A man arrested in Switzerland for suspected links to a gun used by an allegedly murderous group of neo-Nazis in Germany is now under investigation for complicity in murder, Swiss police said on Wednesday.
The Swiss national was arrested on Febrary 7 for links to a gun used by the neo-Nazi cell, which is suspected in the murders of 10 people from 2000 to 2007.
"The investigations began initially over the suspicion of support for a criminal organization," said police spokesman for the Swiss canton of Bern, Michael Fichter, adding that "mainly for procedural reasons, the charge has now been extended to complicity in murder."
Police are specifically looking into whether the man, whose identity is being withheld under police policy, obtained the pistol for the so-called National Socialist Underground that was used in the murders.
The neo-Nazi cell was uncovered in November when two of the members were found dead in an apparent suicide pact. A third member, 36-year-old Beate Z., turned herself in but is refusing to cooperate with police.
The cell is also suspected in two bomb attacks on the western city of Cologne in 2001 and 2004, which wounded 23 people, and in several armed bank robberies.
The Swiss police's announcement comes a day before German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to lead a commemoration ceremony for the murder victims.
acb/ (AFP, dpa)