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Berlin's Justice Senator Felor Badenberg is considered an “AfD hunter”. She also declares war on criminal clans – and a new phenomenon worries the native Iranian.
Berlin – The spy is the first thing you see: the electronic device is hanging outside the door to Justice Senator Felor Badenberg's office. The small camera makes it clear: You can't just get in here.
Felor Badenberg was born in Iran and came to Germany at the age of twelve. Before she was appointed senator by CDU Mayor Kai Wegner in April 2023 as a non-party politician, the lawyer had a distinguished career at the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. She also worked there with his ex-boss Hans-Georg Maaßen, who is currently being stored there as a right-wing extremist.
Espionage from China and Russia: AfD hunter Felor Badenberg is familiar with this
Badenberg is considered a tough opponent AfD; It was also her work on a report that led to the party being classified as a suspected right-wing extremist case. Now she wants to dry up clan crime in Berlin. Meanwhile, she is worried about the latest espionage incidents: She knows such cases from very personal experience, as she explains in the interview.
When you think about your country of origin, Iran, these days, what goes through your mind, Ms. Badenberg?
My first thought is: please not another war. When I saw videos of the brutal massacre of the… Hamas When I saw people in Israel on October 7th, I sometimes had to look away. I could not bear it. It's been over half a year now and I can't get the brutality out of my head. I recently met and exchanged ideas with family members of victims and hostages. That was very hard. Now innocent civilians are also dying Gaza Strip, my heart is bleeding. I very much hope that this conflict ends soon and does not escalate further.
In your opinion, is there a growing danger that the conflict will also take place in Germany?
The conflict in the Middle East is having a noticeable impact on the situation in Germany. Since October 7th we have seen this in a special way: on the streets, at universities and in schoolyards. This is a real challenge for us as a society. Regardless of this, there has also been another danger that has hardly been publicly perceived for some time.
Employees of AfD politician Krah are said to have spied for China – not the only danger
Which would that be?
There is currently a lot of talk about international espionage. An employee of the AfD's top candidate for the European Parliament, Maximilian Krah, is suspected of having spied for China. Two men were recently arrested in Bayreuth who are said to have spied on possible attack targets for Russia. The Iranian secret services have been doing this too, for years.
With what aim?
People with Iranian roots who express criticism of the regime must expect to be targeted by the Iranian secret services in Germany.
Does this also apply to you?
That's what I'm expecting.
Visit to the Iranian embassy: “They knew exactly who I was”
Is there any evidence for this?
When I was still working at the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, I once attended an appointment at the Iranian embassy in Berlin. For security reasons, I was given a working name, i.e. a code name. When I was greeted, I was greeted with my birth name and in Farsi. They knew exactly who I was and wanted to show me that.
Is Germany sufficiently armed against spy attacks?
I can't answer that with “yes”. For example, the so-called G10 telecommunications surveillance law is largely aimed at the age of letters and analogue telephony. But in the digital age, where messages are transmitted encrypted via messenger services, things are more complicated. We have to get to the forefront of the situation to prevent attacks and attacks. To do this, we must create the right basis for action for the security authorities – effective, modern intelligence tools.
Is this also due to comparatively strict data protection rules?
The investigation of serious crimes is sometimes made more difficult by the argument of data protection. And I'm also talking about the toughest cases that law enforcement can deal with, especially child pornography. Do we have to protect the personal rights of serious criminals online in such a way that investigations are made much more difficult? I do not think so. The victims also have legitimate interests that are currently not always adequately acknowledged. We could also fight terrorism more effectively if we had data retention, for example.
As an alternative, there is now the quick freeze procedure, in which investigators can temporarily back up data.
Yes, this news came on the very day on which the first results of the crime statistics were announced. This is almost ironic, because the procedure will not help to provide more information due to its impractical nature.
What do you mean?
An example: Some time ago there was a cyber attack from China on a large German DAX company. Because the spied data was not stored long enough, there was no chance of fully solving the attack. In public debate, the impression is often given that the state is unlawfully monitoring people. I would like to see more trust in our constitutional state and its institutions.
High level of foreign crime: “Drawing conclusions from a press release would be dishonest”
Keyword crime statistics: Crime against foreigners has increased significantly. How do you rate that?
The proportion of non-Germans in the total population has increased. It is not surprising that the proportion of crimes committed by non-Germans is also increasing accordingly.
So just a statistical effect?
You have to deal with these statistics intensively and in a differentiated manner. At this point in time, not all figures, data and facts have been published. I would therefore be cautious about drawing conclusions based on a press release from the Federal Criminal Police Office; that would be dishonest. When all the facts are on the table, we can talk about possible consequences.
They support that immigrants must declare in writing that they support Israel's right to exist when they become naturalized. Critics call this symbolic politics because sanctions would be almost impossible to implement. What do you say?
Of course, it doesn't help if someone simply signs a declaration. For me it's about a commitment to the foundations of our democracy. Regardless of our historical responsibility, there must be no doubt that Israel has a right to exist. I expect this attitude from all people who live and want to live here.
In Berlin, but also in NRW and other regions, so-called clan crime has been a problem for years. How to solve it?
Combating organized crime is a focus of my work. A very important tool for this is the so-called asset recovery. To strengthen them, we have already done a lot as the Senate: with additional positions in the public prosecutor's office, the public prosecutor's office and in cooperation with the districts. In 2022, the Berlin courts ordered assets worth 91 million euros to be confiscated because they resulted from criminal transactions. Guess how many millions were actually collected in the end?
Eight.
Not even, there were only six.
Berlin's Justice Senator: “I want to make it as uncomfortable as possible for clan criminals”
Like that?
For a large part it was said: There is nothing left to be gained. Because, for example, the villa had already been resold. Or the jewelry has already been passed on to someone abroad. This is bitter because the criminals do not feel the punishment and the state of Berlin loses out on income. A big problem was that the cases simply could not be processed adequately because only five public prosecutors in the whole of Berlin could take care of them. I have changed that; sufficient human resources will be available in the future.
How would you specifically like to combat clan crime?
I want to make it as uncomfortable as possible for the clan criminals in Berlin. When it comes to asset recovery, we also use low-threshold instruments in administrative offense proceedings and support the districts with the public prosecutor's office. Specifically: In the case of an illegally set up slot machine, the regulatory authority can, for example, issue a so-called confiscation notice and confiscate every euro inserted into the machine; the money then benefits the state of Berlin. This project caused a stir nationwide.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, the LKA uses so-called name-based research when investigating clan crime. Critics think this is racist. What do you say?
The fact is that you are dealing with criminal members of large families who come from abroad. The police must investigate accordingly. We don't want this form of crime either and want effective law enforcement. We have to move away from these unobjective, sometimes ideological debates. In the worst case, this leads to people turning to extreme parties.
You mean the AfD?
Yes.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner once described her as the “biggest AfD hunter”. Do you like the title?
I didn't choose it, but I don't mind it either. The title comes from the fact that I headed the right-wing extremism department at the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. My goal was to take a closer look at the intellectual arsonists. Because the so-called New Right are much more dangerous than neo-Nazis with bald heads and combat boots. They try to bring racist and ethnic ideas into the middle of society and push the boundaries of what can be said.
Hans-Georg Maaßen is being monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution: “He probably wouldn’t have thought that himself.”
Is someone like Hans Georg Maaßen, your former boss at the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, an intellectual arsonist?
I don't comment on former superiors.
Would you ever have thought that Maaßen would himself become an object of observation by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution in the area of right-wing extremism?
No. He probably wouldn't have thought that himself.
You lived in Cologne for a long time. What do you miss when you are in Berlin?
My family. My mother. I have a very close relationship with her; I used to visit her several times a week after work. That's no longer possible in this form and that's something I'm missing. And I actually miss the Cologne Carnival during the session too.
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