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CRIME

Two girls saved by Tugce A. come forward

UPDATE: Police have found the two most important witnesses to the incident that led to Tugce A.'s deadly attack. The teenagers, aged 13 and 16, came forward on Monday. Tugce A. died on her 23rd birthday, two weeks after she stepped in to their aid, resulting in a deadly attack by their harassers.

Two girls saved by Tugce A. come forward
People lay flowers at a memorial for student Tugce A.

"Tugce will be missed by us all – we're going to miss her warm smile," her father told the Bild am Sonntag. "The first day without Tugce is like a day with no tomorrow."

After being declared brain dead by doctors in the Offenbach hospital, her family said good bye on Friday with birthday cake. Below the window, 1,500 well-wishers gathered in front below, holding a vigil, commending the 23-year-old for her civil courage.

Tugce A. had been in the hospital since November 15, when she saw a group of men harassing a pair of girls in a McDonald's. The group then turned on her in an attack that went from the fast-food restaurant into the parking lot. She then fell into a coma that she would never wake from.

GALLERY: Hundreds mourn good samaritan

Her body was then taken to the Institute of Forensic Medicine (RMIF) in Frankfurt am Main where an autopsy will be performed to find the exact cause of death. They also hope to find out if the deadly blows were already dealt out in the restaurant or the further violence in the parking lot.

One man, 18, is in custody following the attack. Police are charging him with grievous bodily harm causing death.

They are feverishly searching for the two women Tugce A. helped.

Reactions to her death have come from across the country. President Joachim Gauck wrote the family a letter of condolence, saying the young woman had "earned all our gratitude and respect" through her actions.

"Where other people look away, Tugce acted with exemplary bravery and courage," he wrote.

Photos of Tugce at a vigil held in her honour. Photo: DPA

A change.org petition calling for Tugce A. to receive a posthumous honour has already gathered more than 100,000 signatures.

McDonald's also made a statement, saying the brutal attack "has left us all stunned, especially the employees at the restaurant in Offenbach Kaserlei."

Doctors from the clinic in Offenbach have also said that even in death, the 23 year old is still helping people. Today, people around Germany have a second chance at life thanks to the organs she donated. 

The family has also pleaded with people to not share a video that has surfaced on the Internet of the fight.

"The family does not want this video to be shown," a family friend told Focus Online

Until now, only police had access to the security camera footage of the McDonald's parking lot that night. A campaign saying "She showed us courage, now we have to show her respect" is encouraging people to not watch or share the video, which is currently embedded in Bild's coverage of the story.

"We don't know how the video went public on the Internet," a police spokesperson said. .  

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CRIME

Nine face trial in Germany for alleged far-right coup plot

The first members of a far-right group that allegedly plotted to attack the German parliament and overthrow the government will go on trial in Stuttgart on Monday.

Nine face trial in Germany for alleged far-right coup plot

Nine suspected participants in the coup plot will take the stand in the first set of proceedings to open in the sprawling court case, split among three courts in three cities.

The suspects are accused of having participated in the “military arm” of the organisation led by the minor aristocrat and businessman Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss.

The alleged plot is the most high-profile recent case of far-right violence, which officials say has grown to become the biggest extremist threat in Germany.

The organisation led by Reuss was an eclectic mix of characters and included, among others, a former special forces soldier, a former far-right MP, an astrologer, and a well-known chef.

Reuss, along with other suspected senior members of the group, will face trial in the second of the three cases, in Frankfurt in late May.

The group aimed to install him as head of state after its planned takeover.

Heinrich XIII arrested at his home following a raid in 2022.

Heinrich XIII arrested at his home following a raid in 2022. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Boris Roessler

The alleged plotters espoused a mix of “conspiracy myths” drawn from the global QAnon movement and the German Reichsbûrger (Citizens of the Reich) scene, according to prosecutors.

The Reichsbürger movement includes right-wing extremists and gun enthusiasts who reject the legitimacy of the modern German republic.

Its followers generally believe in the continued existence of the pre-World War I German Reich, or empire, under a monarchy, and several groups have declared their own states.

Such Reichsbürger groups were driven by “hatred of our democracy”, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in Berlin on Sunday.

“We will continue our tough approach until we have fully exposed and dismantled militant ‘Reichsbürger’ structures,” she added.

READ ALSO: Who was involved in the alleged plot to overthrow German democracy?

‘Treasonous undertaking’

According to investigators, Reuss’s group shared a belief that Germany was run by members of a “deep state” and that the country could be liberated with the help of a secret international alliance.

The nine men to stand trial in Stuttgart are accused by prosecutors of preparing a “treasonous undertaking” as part of the Reichsbürger plot.

As part of the group, they are alleged to have aimed to “forcibly eliminate the existing state order” and replace it with their own institutions.

The members of the military arm were tasked with establishing, supplying and recruiting new members for “territorial defence companies”, according to prosecutors.

Among the accused are a special forces soldier, identified only as Andreas M. in line with privacy laws, who is said to have used his access to scout out army barracks.

Others were allegedly responsible for the group’s IT systems or were tasked with liaising with the fictitious underground “alliance”, which they thought would rally to the plotters’ aid when the coup was launched.

The nine include Alexander Q., who is accused by federal prosecutors of acting as the group’s propagandist, spreading conspiracy theories via the Telegram messaging app.

Two of the defendants, Markus L. and Ralf S., are accused of weapons offences in addition to the charge of treason.

Markus L. is also accused of attempted murder for allegedly turning an assault rifle on police and injuring two officers during a raid at his address in March 2023.

Police swooped in to arrest most of the group in raids across Germany in December 2022 and the charges were brought at the end of last year.

Three-part trial 

Proceedings in Stuttgart are set to continue until early 2025.

In all, 26 people are accused in the huge case against the extremist network, with trials also set to open in Munich and Frankfurt.

Reuss will stand trial in Frankfurt from May 21st, alongside another ringleader, an ex-army officer identified as Ruediger v.P., and a former MP for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Birgit Malsack-Winkemann.

The Reichsbürger group had allegedly organised a “council” to take charge after their planned putsch, with officials warning preparations were at an advanced stage.

The alleged plotters had resources amounting to 500,000 euros ($536,000) and a “massive arsenal of weapons”, according to federal prosecutors.

Long dismissed as malcontents and oddballs, believers in Reichsbuerger-type conspiracies have become increasingly radicalised in recent years and are seen as a growing security threat.

Earlier this month, police charged a new suspect in relation to another coup plot.

The plotters, frustrated with pandemic-era restrictions, planned to kidnap the German health minister, according to investigators.

Five other suspected co-conspirators in that plot went on trial in Koblenz last May.

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