BERLIN, July 31 (Xinhua) -- German Federal Prosecutor on Monday confirmed two suspects were accessories to murders committed by far-right terrorist organization National Socialist Underground (NSU).
The former National Democratic Party (NPD) functionary Ralf Wohlleben and Carsten S. assisted the court case's main defendant Beate Zschaepe with the provision of a firearm which was used to carry out nine murders, senior public prosecutor Jochen Weingartner said in his plea before the provincial high court of Munich.
Wohlleben has consistently denied accusations of being an accessory to murder. Carsten S. is the only of five defendants in total to have pleaded guilty.
Police investigations have determined that the gun of the make Ceska was used between the years 2000 and 2006 to kill nine men of Turkish and Greek origin in several German cities. Following the Federal Prosecutor's view, the shots were fired by Zschaepe's companions Uwe Boehnhardt and Uwe Mundlos.
Boehnardt and Mundlos both committed suicide in 2011 following the self-uncovering of their far-right organization. While Zschaepe had not carried out the murders herself, she still carried the full responsibility for them as the group's "co-founder, member and accomplice."
The Federal Prosecutor believes that the NSU should be classified as a "terrorist organization" for committing a total of ten murders, including the murder of one police officer, as well as three bombings and 15 armed robberies from 1998 until 2011.
The NSU was first established in the extreme-right scene of Thuringia during the 1990s. The number of its supporters is unclear but was estimated at between 100 and 200 individuals in 2013, including covert government agents and functionaries of far-right parties.
The so-called "Bosphorus Serial Murders" witnessed innocent civilians shot dead in broad daylight, most at point-blank range with a silenced Ceska firearm. Many attacks took place while the victims were at work in food markets, street food stalls or kiosks.
A court verdict is expected this fall. Several defendants face life in jail if found guilty.
