Germany raids group for allegedly plotting to topple Eritrean regime

German authorities conducted raids on Wednesday across six states targeting 17 people suspected of membership in a domestic terrorist group, allegedly aiming to overthrow the Eritrean government, prosecutors said.

According to German authorities, the suspects are believed to hold leading roles in a German offshoot of the Brigade N'Hamedu group.

No arrests have yet been made.

Federal prosecutors in Karlsruhe described the German organization, active since at least 2022, as an internationally connected network known for using violence against event organizers in Germany who support the Eritrean government.

The group is accused of orchestrating violent riots at Eritrean festivals in Giessen, near Frankfurt, in August 2022 and in July 2023, as well as at a seminar hosted by an Eritrean association in Stuttgart in September 2023.

Numerous police officers were injured during the incidents, some seriously.

According to the press release, some members of the organization had considered violence against German state institutions and representatives of state authority - such as police officers - to be a legitimate means.

200 officers search 19 locations across Germany

Around 200 police officers searched 19 properties on Wednesday in the states of Hesse, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Baden-Württemberg.

Another search took place at the same time in Denmark.

A suspect in a separate case, reportedly a leader of Brigade N'Hamedu in both the Netherlands and Germany, was recently sentenced to several years in prison by a Dutch court for his role in riots in The Hague on February 17, 2024.

In 2024, a Stuttgart court sentenced a 29-year-old Eritrean to three years and nine months in prison, while a Giessen court handed a 24-year-old a suspended sentence of one year and three months for their roles in the riots.

Eritrean regime accused of human rights violations

Eritrea, with a population of about 4 million, is located in north-east Africa on the Red Sea and is largely isolated internationally.

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki has ruled the country since it gained independence around 30 years ago.

Political parties are banned, and freedom of expression and press are heavily restricted. There is neither a parliament nor independent courts or civil society organizations.

Reports also detail large-scale massacres, extrajudicial executions and sexual violence by security forces. The government, which rules as a one-party state, dismisses these allegations as politically motivated.