The Federal Constitutional Commissioner, Hans-Georg Maaßen, has not yet informed the Federal Government about possible false information in connection with xenophobic attacks in Chemnitz. "There has been no discussion of the Federal Chancellor with Mr. Maaßen in recent days," said government spokesman Steffen Seibert on Friday.

Asked whether Maaßen still enjoys the confidence Seehofer, a spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry said on Friday in Berlin: "Of course." However, Seibert avoided a direct answer to the question of whether Merkel Maaßen expressed her confidence and said: "Mr Maassen has an important and responsible task."

Seehofer himself reported that he had not consulted with the Chancellery on the latest findings of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. "Nobody asked me about it from the Chancellery," he told Seehofer in Wiesbaden. He is "in constant contact" with the security authorities under his supervision.

On the statements of Maassen said Seehofer, he had "no other information" by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution than the public made by Maaßen. "My information desk is identical," he added.

Maaßen had told the "Bild" newspaper that the constitutional protection "had no reliable information about the fact that such hunts have taken place". Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) used the term "Hunthunt". Saxony's prime minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) contradicted her on Wednesday in a government statement in the state parliament. The events in Chemnitz must be described correctly. "Of course, there was no mob, no hunt and no pogroms."

Video from the first riots in Chemnitz

Video

Twitter / GodCoder

About a video that should show attacks on foreign people near the Johannisplatz in Chemnitz, Maassen said: "There is no evidence that the circulating on the Internet video for this alleged incident is authentic." According to his cautious assessment, "there are good reasons why it is targeted misinformation in order to possibly distract the public from the murder in Chemnitz".

For his statements Maaßen must now take clear criticism. For example, Bundestag Vice President Thomas Oppermann (SPD), who claims to have "no understanding" for the statements of Maassen. There were conditions in Chemnitz that "we could not accept on the German roads," said Oppermann. SPD vice chief Ralf Stegner demanded the resignation of Maassen. That Maaßen should provide evidence for his assumptions, which demanded, among others SPD Secretary General Lars Klingbeil and Greens parliamentary leader Anton Hofreiter.

The trigger for the protests in Chemnitz was the killing of a German with Cuban roots. Two young men who had come to Saxony as asylum seekers are now in custody. According to their own information, they are from Syria and Iraq.

Stimmenfang # 63 - Right-wing riots in Chemnitz: why time and again Saxony?

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