Reich citizen raid: Koch released, suspicion remains

The celebrity chef arrested in December in Kitzbühel in the course of a Reichsbürger raid is free again. This was confirmed by the German federal prosecutor in Karlsruhe on Monday. “I can inform you that the arrest warrant against Frank H. has been suspended,” spokeswoman Ines Peterson told APA. “There is still a suspicion that the investigation is ongoing.”

Koch denies contact with the Reich citizen scene

The German newspaper “Bild” had previously reported, citing the 62-year-old’s Munich lawyer, Stephan Lucas, that H. had been released from the Stadelheim prison in Munich. In the Stadelheim JVA, they did not want to comment on the APA request on Sunday.

Kitzbühel “Reichsbürger” extradited to Germany

A man arrested in the course of the German “Reichsbürger” raid in Kitzbühel has been extradited to Germany. According to media reports, the 62-year-old is said to be the father of …

He was happy and relieved, H. told the newspaper. “I have nothing to do with the so-called Reich Citizens’ Scene and their ideas. I just wanted to cook!” He used the time in prison in Munich, where the German citizen was imprisoned after being extradited from Austria, to design new recipes. Now he wants to focus on his restaurant in Kitzbühel.

25 arrests in raid

A total of 25 people were arrested in the large-scale raid on December 7 of the previous year, 23 of them in Germany. The well-known chef was arrested in his official apartment above a trendy bar where he worked and later extradited to Germany. 22 of those arrested were accused of being members of a terrorist organization that wanted to overthrow the political system in Germany. Three other arrested are considered supporters. With the exception of one Russian, all suspects have German citizenship.

What are “Reichsbürger”?

“Reich citizens” are people who do not recognize the Federal Republic of Germany, its institutions and its democratic structures. They often refuse to pay taxes or pay fines. The German Office for the Protection of the Constitution now ascribes more than 21,000 supporters to the scene. There are similar movements in several countries, in Austria they are known as “state refusers”.

“In Austria, the scene of the so-called anti-state connections and their actions is being observed,” said the Ministry of the Interior when asked by APA. If criminal acts or preparatory acts are perceived, steps will be taken and the necessary measures taken, a spokesman said on Monday, citing state security (DSN). The ministry spokesman did not go into detail about the case “for data protection reasons”.

(Those: APA)