fascism is not an opinion - fascism is a crime!

Parents’ head alleges over 100 pupils in Larnaca linked to neo-Nazi group Cyprus

New revelations aired on state television on Friday regarding recent organised neo-Nazi activity at Vergina High School in Larnaca with allegations that more than 100 pupils are actively involved and others have received extremist training abroad. Speaking on CyBC, parent’s association president Loizos Constantinou claimed a ‘structured group’ has been operating for ‘at least two years’ at Vergina, creating what he described as ‘a climate of intimidation’ for other pupils. He said the scale and organisation of the group go far beyond childish provocation or ignorance. “The number of the group is in the three digits,” Constantinou said, suggesting that specific students had travelled to Greece, to a particular location linked to extremist networks. “This means there is a centre recruiting from outside Cyprus,” he warned. Konstantinou said he had information on a group of pupils who travelled recently to Greece to make direct contact with extremist groups. (…) Constantinou lambasted the ‘sheer negligence’ of the school authorities, particularly the failure to remove fascist symbols emblazoned on campus. He said swastikas were left on walls for two or three months, suggesting a message of remarkable tolerance or indifference. “When you enter a school and see slogans and symbols like that, it is like entering a neo-Nazi stronghold,” he said. “The simplest thing would have been for them to disappear the next day, in a matter of minutes.” He added that the school knew which pupils were involved and could have identified those responsible quickly, including those appearing in photographs and those coordinating the activity. “You do not need many people to cause damage,” he said. “The mass is affected.” According to Constantinou, the group has been expanding steadily over the past two years, and the education ministry holds additional evidence.

via cyprus-mail: Parents’ head alleges over 100 pupils in Larnaca linked to neo-Nazi group Cyprus

siehe auch: Cyprus police probe after high school students post Nazi images online Authorities scramble to identify students promoting hate as Education Ministry steps in. Authorities are moving swiftly after photos circulated online showing a group of Larnaca high school students giving Nazi salutes, drawing swastikas, and sharing extremist ideology. While the Education Ministry and the school are handling the matter internally, the cybercrime unit has launched its own investigation to trace the social media account that posted the content. Identifying the students is proving tricky, as some faces were obscured in the images. School officials are reportedly preparing disciplinary measures for those involved. The principal is expected to impose penalties aimed at addressing both the actions and the wider influence these students may have tried to exert on classmates; Over 100 youths in Larnaca “Nazi organisation” travelled to Greece for training, parents’ head warns More than 100 young people from Larnaca belong to a “Nazi organisation” that has sent members to Greece for training with extremist groups, the head of Cyprus’s parents’ confederation warned on Friday. Loizos Konstantinou, president of the Confederation of Secondary Education Parents’ Associations, said a fascist cell of pupils at Vergina Lyceum has operated for two years, creating what he called a “climate of terrorism” amongst other pupils whilst school authorities left swastikas on walls for months. “The number of the group is in the three digits,” Konstantinou told state television, revealing that students “visited Greece, they didn’t go on holiday, they went to a specific place. So it means there is a centre outside Cyprus.” The disclosure escalates a controversy over students photographed giving Nazi salutes, allegedly proselytising others to their organisation, and vandalising the school with swastikas. (…) Konstantinou accused the school of negligence. “When you see the swastika on the school wall and leave it there for two, three months. What is that? The simplest thing the next day should have disappeared in a few minutes.” He said students entering the school saw slogans, describing it as looking “like you’re entering the neo-Nazi lair”. The school knew which children were involved and could easily provide details in minutes, he said. The group has been expanding over the past two years, with the Ministry holding further evidence. “We have become very concerned. For this reason we contacted the Ministry and procedures are proceeding with investigations and today there will be further development,” Konstantinou said.

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Stanislav Orlov, Head of Notorious “Espanola” Neo-Nazi Brigade, Reportedly Killed Amid $18M Theft Probe

Stanislav Orlov, the founder of the Russian reconnaissance and sabotage brigade “Espanola”, has been killed in Russia, Militarnyi reported on December 19, citing Russian war correspondents and statements from the unit itself. According to information published by pro-Russian military bloggers, Orlov, known by the callsign “Spaniard,” died from gunshot wounds sustained during his detention. He was reportedly accused of illegally misappropriating 1.5 billion rubles (approximately $18.5 million). The pro-Kremlin outlet Mash claimed that Orlov had been in a coma for several days prior to his death, though the exact cause of the coma was not disclosed. In a statement released by the brigade, relatives and associates announced plans for a farewell ceremony, describing Orlov as the “leader, creator, and inspiration” behind Espanola. At the same time, the unit admitted it does not yet know the precise circumstances, location, or perpetrators involved in his death, stating that Russian investigative authorities are still determining the details. Earlier reports suggested that another Espanola volunteer, Oleksii Zhyvov, may also have been detained alongside Orlov in connection with an alleged illegal arms trafficking case. However, there was no official confirmation, and Zhyvov later stated publicly that he was unharmed. Orlov arrived in the Russian-occupied Donbas in 2014, joining militants linked to Igor Bezler’s brigade. He later organized and commanded a reconnaissance unit known as “Skull and Bones.” In 2022, he founded the Espanola brigade, which included hundreds of far-right extremists and neo-Nazis.

via united24media: Stanislav Orlov, Head of Notorious “Espanola” Neo-Nazi Brigade, Reportedly Killed Amid $18M Theft Probe

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Man, 33, and nine teenagers arrested over Kirkcaldy Nazi salute photograph

Ten males have been identified by police after a photograph showing a group of masked people doing Nazi salutes on the steps of Kirkcaldy Town House circulated online. Police Scotland confirmed that a 33-year-old man and four 16-year-olds have been arrested and charged in connection with the incident. They are due to appear at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court at a later date and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal. Officers also said five teenage boys have been charged in connection and will be reported to the relevant authorities. Last weekend an image appeared on social media showing a group of around 40 individuals dressed all in black and wearing face coverings on the steps of Kirkcaldy’s Town House with many raising their right arms and some holding a flag with Nazi symbolism on it. In online posts featuring the image, the group claimed to be supporters of Raith Rovers, however the football club has said this week there is “no direct connection” between the group and the club and has condemned their actions.

via fifetoday: Man, 33, and nine teenagers arrested over Kirkcaldy Nazi salute photograph

siehe auch: Ten charged after ‘group Nazi salute with SS flag’ at town hall Ten males have been identified after a photo was circulated on social media of a group doing offensive gestures in front of Kirkcaldy House. Ten males, including nine teenagers, have been charged after an image appearing to show a group performing Nazi salutes alongside an SS flag outside a Fife town hall was posted online. A number of masked individuals were pictured dressed in black, raising and extending their right arms in a gesture used by the Nazi Party in Germany, at the entrance to Kirkcaldy Town House. They appear to be holding a Schutzstaffel flag, which is adorned with the SS insignia. The Nazi paramilitary group, which operated under Adolf Hitler, is estimated to have murdered around six million Jewish people during the Holocaust. Police have confirmed that a 33-year-old man and four 16-year-old males have been arrested and charged in connection; Man, 33, and nine teens charged over ‘Nazi salute’ picture in Kirkcaldy Police have carried out raids on several homes across the town in relation to the image. A 33-year-old man and nine teenagers have been charged after a group of men allegedly gave a Nazi salute and unfurled an SS flag in Kirkcaldy town centre. A 16-year-old boy was previously charged in connection with the incident after an image of the group standing outside Kirkcaldy Townhouse circulated online. At the time, police said they were “working to identify the others involved”. The photograph appears to show a group of around 40 people wearing black clothing and face coverings. Most appear to have their right arms raised, while some hold a flag with the SS symbol on it.

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At least four people killed in mass stabbing in Taipei

Man, 27, from northern Taiwan reported to have fallen to his death in police chase after rampage through capital. At least four people have died in a rare mass stabbing incident in central Taipei after an attacker used smoke grenades to cause chaos as he went on a violent rampage through Taiwan’s capital. Several people were also injured. The suspected assailant is among the dead after he fell from a building during a police chase through a busy shopping district on Friday evening. One of the victims was killed as they tried to stop the attack inside Taipei’s Main station, according to the city’s mayor, Chiang Wan-an. The suspected attacker has been described as a 27-year-old man from Taoyuan, a northern county in Taiwan. He was reportedly an air force volunteer soldier who had served near Taipei’s Songshan airport in a radio communication team but was discharged in 2022. Taiwan’s premier, Cho Jung-tai, told reporters that the suspected attacker had a prior criminal record and outstanding warrants. Local media reported he was wanted by the local prosecutor’s office for obstructing military service in 2024 due to his failure to report on duty. Cho described the incident as a “deliberate attack”, although by late Friday night the motive remained unknown.

via guardian: At least four people killed in mass stabbing in Taipei

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In rare public comments, career DOJ officials offer chilling warnings about online network #764 – #terror

Members use social platforms to push vulnerable teens into harming themselves. In striking and chilling terms, several career Justice Department officials on Thursday offered dire warnings about the online extremist network “764,” whose young followers around the world use popular social media platforms to target, groom and push vulnerable teens into harming themselves and others. “I don’t think Stephen King is dark enough to come up with some of the stuff that these kids are coming up with,” said Justin Sher, a trial attorney with the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “It is as serious a threat as you can imagine,” said Sher’s colleague James Donnelly, the DOJ’s domestic terrorism coordinator. “[And] they’re trying to metastasize the evil.” Their comments came during a panel about 764 hosted by George Washington University’s Program on Extremism. It was a rare public appearance for two career prosecutors who the panel’s moderator described as “the point people” on 764 within the department’s National Security Division. Sher and Donnelly both noted that 764 members are increasingly trying to push victims to take deadly actions, including suicide or school shootings and other mass-casualty attacks. As ABC News has previously reported, 764 members find vulnerable victims on popular online platforms, elicit private information and intimate sexual images from them, and then use that sensitive material to threaten and blackmail victims into mutilating themselves, harming others, or taking other violent action — all while streaming it on social media so others can watch and then disseminate recordings of it. “For them, content is currency,” Sher said. “So they are building their content inventory … and putting it out there to build their status within these groups.”

via abc: In rare public comments, career DOJ officials offer chilling warnings about online network 764

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Erfolg für Neonazi-Gruppierung: Bundesverwaltungsgericht kippt „Hammerskins“-Verbot

Regionale Gruppen der Neonazi-Organisation hatten geklagt und verbuchen nun einen juristischen Erfolg. Es wurde jedoch nicht geprüft, ob die Gruppierung verfassungsfeindlich ist. Das Bundesverwaltungsgericht hat das Verbot der rechtsextremen „Hammerskins Deutschland“ gekippt. Das Gericht in Leipzig gab den Klagen mehrerer Mitglieder und regionaler Untergruppen gegen die Verbotsverfügung des Bundesinnenministeriums statt. Die Bundesrichter konnten nicht erkennen, dass tatsächlich eine bundesweite „Hammerskins“-Dachorganisation existiert hat, die hätte verboten werden können. Der Verbotsbescheid sei rechtswidrig, teilte das Gericht mit. (…) Die „Hammerskins“ verstehen sich als Bruderschaft. Die Neonazi-Bewegung stammt aus den USA. Seit Anfang der 1990er Jahre gründeten sich in Deutschland nach und nach regionale Chapter. Zum Zeitpunkt des Verbots hatten die „Hammerskins“ in Deutschland laut Verfassungsschutz rund 130 Mitglieder. Dass das Verbot keinen Bestand hat, liegt daran, dass das Ministerium nicht genug Beweise vorlegen konnte, dass tatsächlich eine bundesweite, tonangebende Ebene bei der Neonazi-Gruppierung bestanden hat. Es wurde nicht geprüft, ob die „Hammerskins“ verfassungsfeindlich sind. (…) Die regionalen Chapter der „Hammerskins“ können nun vorerst weitermachen. Dass das für immer so bleibt, ist nicht ausgemacht. „In Fallgestaltungen der vorliegenden Art bleibt es den jeweils zuständigen Behörden des Bundes und der Länder allerdings unbenommen, einzelne Chapter zu verbieten, wenn für diese Verbotsgründe festgestellt werden können“, so das Bundesverwaltungsgericht.

via tagesspiegel: Erfolg für Neonazi-Gruppierung: Bundesverwaltungsgericht kippt „Hammerskins“-Verbot

siehe auch: Bundesverwaltungsgericht zu Hammerskins Skinhead-Bruderschaft wieder erlaubt Die „Hammerskins“ können erneut legal agieren. Die Richter kippten das Verbot des Dachverbandes. Der Grund: Dessen Existenz war nicht nachweisbar. Das Bundesverwaltungsgericht hat das Verbot des Vereins „Hammerskins Deutschland“ aufgehoben, mit der Begründung, dass es einen solchen bundesweiten Zusammenschluss nicht gebe. Das Bundesinnenministerium kann gegen das Urteil keine Rechtsmittel einlegen. Damit können die rechtsextremistischen Hammerskins vorerst wieder aktiv werden. Die Hammerskin Nation wurde 1988 in Dallas gegründet und breitete sich in der Folge international aus. Sie versteht sich als elitäre neonazistische Skinhead-Bruderschaft, die für den „Schutz der weißen arischen Rasse“ kämpft. In Deutschland waren die Hammerskins vor allem mit klandestinen Konzerten von Nazi-Bands aktiv. Nach Angaben des Bundesinnenministeriums (BMI) gab es 2023 in Deutschland 13 regionale Ableger, sogenannte Chapter, mit insgesamt rund 130 Mitgliedern. Im September 2023 verbot die damalige Innenministerin Nancy Faeser (SPD) den „Verein Hammerskins Deutschland“ mit allen regionalen Chaptern und der Teilorganisation Crew 38, die sich für Hammerskins vor Gericht einsetzt. Bei einem parallelen Polizeieinsatz durchsuchten rund 700 Po­li­zis­t:in­nen die Wohnungen von 28 Hammerskin-Mitgliedern in zehn Bundesländern. (…) Das Gericht stellte fest, dass es den angeblichen Verein „Hammerskins Deutschland“ als eine den Chaptnern übergeordnete bundesweite Struktur gar nicht gibt. Es gebe zwar ein „National Officers Meeting“, bei dem sich Vertreter der Chapter regelmäßig treffen. Doch dieses diene nur der Koordination. Das BMI konnte das Gericht nicht überzeugen, dass dort für die Chapter und die Mitglieder verbindliche Entscheidungen getroffen werden. Eine zentrale Steuerung der regionalen Chapter sei nicht belegt. Wenn es aber keinen bundesweiten Verein der Hammerskins gibt, dann konnte er auch nicht verboten werden. Das Bundesverwaltungsgericht hob damit das Verbot wieder auf, wovon auch alle Chapter und die Crew 38 profitieren.

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„Es geht nicht um Inhalte, nur um Aufmerksamkeit” AfD-Vertreter aus Ronnenberg überflutet Verwaltung mit Anträgen – und tappt dabei in KI-Falle – #LügenAfD

Die anderen Fraktion im Rat der Stadt Ronneberg haben die AfD für eine Vielzahl von Anfragen und Anträgen an die Verwaltung scharf kritisiert. Um diese zu formulieren, setzte der AfD-Vertreter offensichtlich auf KI-Unterstützung. Genüsslich analysierte ein SPD-Ratsherr die peinlichsten Pannen, darunter offenbar frei erfundene Gerichtsfälle. Am Ende gab es einen bislang einmaligen Vorgang im Ronnenberger Rat. Wegen einer Vielzahl von Anfragen und Anträgen an die Stadtverwaltung steht der Fraktionsvorsitzende der AfD im Ronnenberger Rat, Marko Nickel, jetzt im Fokus seiner Ratskollegen. Zum einen verweigerten sie einem Prüfauftrag Nickels die Beratung in einem Fachausschuss. Zum anderen kritisierten sie dessen jüngste Vorgehensweise scharf – und zum Teil sehr ironisch. Der AfD-Politiker nahm die harsche Schelte aus den anderen politischen Lagern kommentarlos hin und antwortete auch nicht auf gestellte Fragen. (…) Die Praxis der AfD, die Anfragen und Anträge an die Verwaltung mithilfe einer Künstlichen Intelligenz (KI) zu schreiben – dies habe seine persönliche Analyse der Schriftstücke ergeben –, kritisierte er in der Sache nicht. „KI zu benutzen ist völlig in Ordnung, wenn man anschließend noch weiß, was man da überhaupt abgeschickt hat“, sagte Halbrügge. „Denn gewählt wurden Sie von den Bürgerinnen und Bürgern – und nicht ChatGPT“, warf er Nickel vor. Kritik am Vorgehen der AfD Halbrügge kritisierte, Nickel würde seine Texte offenbar auch nicht mehr gegenlesen und Nachfragen zu den eigenen Anträgen stellen. Dabei würde der Angesprochene häufig auch noch Anfragen und Anträge nicht richtig unterscheiden. Das alles lande dann ungefiltert online im Ratsinformationssystem der Stadt, schilderte der SPD-Ratsherr. Wie Buntrock und Bensch später feststellten, befassten sich die gestellten AfD-Anträge inhaltlich vielfach mit bereits von anderen Fraktionen gestellten Anträgen oder mit Vorgängen, die bereits auf den Weg gebracht seien. Für die Nutzung einer KI gab Halbrügge Nickel noch einen launigen Hinweis mit auf den Weg: „Gerade bei rechtlichen Themen ist KI bekanntermaßen noch nicht so weit.“ So würden von ChatGPT und Co. Rechtsgrundlagen zum Teil erfunden und Gesetze zitiert, die längst außer Kraft seien. Vorwurf: „Inszenierung als Kümmerer – pünktlich zur Wahl“ Eine KI-Falle, in die Nickel nach Halbrügges Recherche offenbar getappt ist. So verweist der SPD-Mann auf einen von Nickel zitierten Beschluss des Oberverwaltungsgerichtes Münster. „Dumm nur, dass es in diesem Beschluss um die Dauerüberwachung von Sexualstraftätern geht – und nicht um Bauarbeiten auf öffentlichen Flächen“, berichtet Halbrügge. In einem weiteren Fall habe er auf Anfrage beim Verwaltungsgericht Düsseldorf die Antwort erhalten, dass das von Nickel angegebene Aktenzeichen gar nicht existiere.

via haz: „Es geht nicht um Inhalte, nur um Aufmerksamkeit” AfD-Vertreter aus Ronnenberg überflutet Verwaltung mit Anträgen – und tappt dabei in KI-Falle

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