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Germany cracks down on far right with arrests and trial

BERLIN — The German authorities moved against right-wing groups on two fronts Tuesday, with an early-morning raid that led to the arrest of five people suspected of attacks on migrant shelters and the opening of a trial of the leader of an anti-immigrant group.

The raid in the eastern state of Saxony led to the detention of four men and one woman who are under investigation in connection with the attacks on shelters in and around Dresden, where weekly demonstrations against immigrants have been held since late 2014.

Two hundred police officers, including members of elite anti-terrorist units, conducted searches at several homes and unidentified properties in the state, federal prosecutors said.

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Later in the morning, Lutz Bachmann, a co-leader of the movement that organized the demonstrations, PEGIDA, went on trial in Dresden, the capital of Saxony. He faces charges of incitement for calling migrants “cattle,” brutes,” and “trash.”

The influx of migrants in Germany has been accompanied by a rise in the popularity of the far right, notably in Saxony.

“With today’s operation, the security authorities have dealt a powerful blow to a regional right-wing terrorist group,” Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière said in a statement.

Residents of Freital, a town of about 40,000 near Bachmann’s home, have been among those carrying signs with the names of their villages at PEGIDA demonstrations. Freital was the site of weeks of antimigrant demonstrations and clashes outside a shelter last summer. Prosecutors said the five people detained Tuesday had formed an organization known as Group Freital.

New York Times