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Families of victims killed by the neo-Nazi terrorist organization National Socialist Underground (NSU) submitted over 150,000 signatures to the German Federal Parliament on Friday, demanding that convicted terrorist Beate Zschaepe remain imprisoned for life without early release.
Zschaepe, serving a life sentence for her role in the NSU murders that killed eight Turkish citizens between 2000 and 2007, is potentially eligible for parole consideration after serving 20 years in prison.
The petition was presented to representatives from the Social Democratic Party, the Greens and the Left Party at an event outside parliament. Family members of the murder victims, including Semiya Simsek, Gamze Kubasik and Mandy Bulgarides, personally delivered the signatures.
Semiya Simsek, the daughter of Enver Simsek, who was shot and killed by NSU terrorists on Sept. 9, 2000, in Nuremberg, emphasized the continuing pain of losing her father.
"When I think of my father, I suffer greatly. This pain does not diminish as years pass. On the contrary, it grows more every day. I miss him every day and still wonder every day why this happened to him and why those who helped with the murder and their accomplices still walk around free," Simsek said.
She stated that families expect the crimes to be fully investigated and all perpetrators punished as they deserve.
Gamze Kubasik, daughter of Mehmet Kubasik, who was killed by NSU members on April 4, 2006, in Dortmund, spoke of the state's apparent indifference to the victims' suffering.
"We feel that the state does not care about our pain. How can a criminal receive support while those left behind have to struggle until now? We do not ask for special treatment. We demand justice," Kubasik said.
She emphasized that her family lost more than their fathers. "We lost our trust and our sense of security," she said, calling on Germany to accept responsibility.
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Mandy Bulgarides, daughter of Theodoros Bulgarides, a Greek man mistakenly believed to be Turkish when he was killed on June 15, 2005, in Munich, noted that the pain has never subsided in the years since his death.
"We are here today because more than 150,000 people in Germany said 'No' to Zschaepe's release from prison. 150,000 people signed our petition because they knew there must be a boundary between remorse and confrontation, between responsibility and mockery," Bulgarides said.
The members of parliament who received the petitions pledged to follow the case closely and bring these demands before the Federal Parliament's agenda.
The NSU terrorist organization's crimes remained unsolved for years before the group was identified in 2011.
The organization killed eight Turkish citizens and two others between 2000 and 2007, launching a campaign of violence that went undetected by German security forces for over a decade.
Two NSU members, Uwe Bohnhard and Uwe Mundlos, were found dead on Nov. 4, 2011, in a caravan where they were hiding following a bank robbery. Their deaths were attributed to suicide.
Beate Zschaepe, described as the only surviving active member of the organization, set fire to the group's safe house following her comrades' deaths and turned herself in to the police.
She was convicted of 10 counts of murder on July 11, 2018, and sentenced to life imprisonment.
The NSU's ability to evade detection by German security services for over a decade sparked significant controversy in Germany.
It was later revealed that some NSU members had connections to intelligence informants, raising questions about the thoroughness of security force investigations and the extent of information available to German authorities during the years the murders were occurring.
The failures to identify and apprehend NSU members earlier prompted widespread debate about gaps in German security and intelligence operations.
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