The accusation that was in the air had the makings of a serious police scandal: the Berlin police officer Norbert M. was said to have leaked secret information that then possibly ended up in the Neukölln neo-Nazi milieu. And this despite the fact that M. himself belonged to an investigative group within the police that… right-wing extremist series of attacks in the district and looked after those affected.
On Monday, the Tiergarten district court actually found the 58-year-old chief inspector guilty of four counts of passing on official secrets and sentenced him to a fine of 90 daily rates of 120 euros each. At the same time, it became clear during the trial: Norbert M. is hardly the internal police mole who is being talked about had previously been publicly speculated.
The court found it proven that M. forwarded a draft roster and three internal messages from the police about right-wing extremist incidents in Neukölln to his acquaintance Jennifer G. between 2020 and 2023. However, contrary to what was initially assumed, Jennifer G. has no contact with the right-wing scene – on the contrary. “The criminal liability does not therefore change, but the assessment changes,” said the judge.
The 32-year-old ex-Bundeswehr soldier G. appeared as a witness in the trial and made it clear that she was committed to the fight against right-wing extremism in the south of Neukölln. She met the police officer Norbert M. in a bar and quickly realized “that he was on the same wavelength as me politically.”
Information forwarded to Ferat Koçak
The two then exchanged ideas again and again when they noticed something: right-wing graffiti, fights, posters. In this context, Norbert M. also gave her the information – to ask her whether she, as a resident, had noticed anything. In one case, when the memorial for the shot Burak Bektaş was defaced, Jennifer G. forwarded the message to the left-wing politician Ferat Koçak, who himself was affected by the series of attacks.
Jennifer G. saw herself as a scout who provided the police with information – even if this collaboration was never official. Photos show them at right-wing extremist Bärgida demonstrations and at NPD events. She assured on Monday that she was there to “obtain information on her own initiative”. Because of the recordings, she was suspected of being an informer for the right-wing scene in the first place.
Norbert M. dedicated every free second to tracking right-wing extremist acts in Neukölln and took a wrong turn
Antonie Ernst, public prosecutor
“Jennifer G. tried to infiltrate the right-wing extremist scene in Harakiri style in order to weaken it,” emphasized prosecutor Antonie Ernst in her plea. It is no wonder that G. and Norbert M. quickly found each other. Like G., Norbert M. took too much time for this task. “He dedicated every free second to pursuing right-wing extremist acts in Neukölln and took a wrong turn,” said Ernst. The police officer stretched and exceeded the rules, even if it was for a “noble motive”.
Another bizarre twist
The verdict is another bizarre twist in the series of right-wing extremist attacks in Neukölln, which date back to 2009 and have not yet been fully investigated. At least 70 crimes are attributed to the complex, including arson attacks, swastika graffiti and death threats. Mistakes and scandals in the police and public prosecutor’s office repeatedly came to light.
Approximately a colleague of Norbert M. beat up. from the Neukölln investigation group in 2017, together with right-wing Union Berlin fans, attacked an Afghan refugee and seriously injured him. Another Neukölln police officer was an AfD member and was in a chat group with one of the suspects. And a public prosecutor was transferred because of bias and suspicion of being close to the AfD.
Because there were so many mishaps in the investigation – the main suspects always kept their feet still exactly when they were being observed – the former lead investigator in the State Criminal Police Office had publicly speculatedthere may have been a mole in the police ranks who leaked information about the undercover operations. However, this explanation for the poor educational work does not support the verdict against Norbert W.