World Bulletin/News Desk
Journalists from the German state of Bavaria want to give their seats at the NSU case trial to Turkish journalists.
Journalists working at the Bavaria state parliament made a proposal to Turkish journalists so they can cover the NSU case.
According to the proposal, three media organizations from Bavaria, who were included in the list of 50 journalists to cover the NSU case, will not attend the trial.
Once this happens, the court will invite journalists on the 51st, 52nd, and 53rd spots.
Turkish journalists may be able to attend the NSU case trial on those spots.
Reactions from Turkey against the German court
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on March 30 phoned his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle and asked for his assistance in letting Turkish officials and journalists attend the NSU case.
Diplomatic sources said that Davutoglu conveyed Turkey’s views on the NSU case to Westerwelle and reminded Westerwelle that the case was closely followed by the Turkish people.
Westerwelle, in his part, told Ahmet Davutoglu that they shared the views of the Turkish government.
The Higher State Court of Munich on March 28 said they would not make any changes on their list of accreditation which had the names of 50 media establishments after various Turkish media groups sent letters to the court for their inclusion in the list of accreditation to cover the Nationalist Socialist Underground (NSU) case.
Chief Judge of the Munich court, Karl Huber underlined that the current list of accreditation would remain in force with no changes.
Huber said, however, that if a certain media organization was to give up seat during the covering of the case, a Turkish media organization could fill that seat during the case.
The NSU is alleged to have murdered eight people with Turkish backgrounds, one with Greek roots and one German policewoman between 2000 and 2007, in addition to committing other crimes including a nail bomb attack in 2004 in a district of Cologne where many Turkish immigrants live, injuring 22 people.
Of the group’s three members — Uwe Bohnhardt, Uwe Mundlos and Beate Zschaepe — only Zschaepe survives. She turned herself into police after Mundlos and Bohnhardt committed suicide following a botched bank robbery in November 2011. She has been charged with being an accessory to the murders and bomb attacks carried out by the NSU, as well as arson, founding a terrorist organization and facilitating robbery. Four alleged accomplices will also be tried.