German security chief called to explain claims about far-right videos

Hans-Georg Maaßen cast doubt on footage of gangs hounding immigrants in Chemnitz

Kate Connolly in Berlin
Tue 11 Sep 2018 13.27 BST

The head of Germany’s domestic security agency (BfV) has been called by a parliamentary committee to explain his reasons for doubting the veracity of videos showing far-right gangs hunting down immigrants.

Hans-Georg Maaßen is to appear before an interior ministry committee on Wednesday amid widespread calls for his resignation, following an interview in which he said footage spread online following violent protests in Chemnitz may have been faked and there was no evidence that rightwing demonstrators had hounded foreigners.

On Monday, Maaßen handed over a report to the interior minister, Horst Seehofer, which reportedly laid out the course of events in Chemnitz according to the BfV chief.

In his original comments to the newspaper Bild, Maaßen appeared to directly contradict the responses of Angela Merkel and her spokesman, Steffen Seibert, to the demonstrations. Both Merkel and Seibert had referred to a hetzjagd (hounding) of foreigners.

According to some media reports, Maaßen then appeared to row back on his original comments, saying he did not consider a particular video to be false and stating that he had been misunderstood. He reportedly said he was surprised by the speed at which the media and politicians were ready to accept the video as authentic.

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