NSU Witness Dies In Her Apartment

A young German woman who had testified as a witness in an ongoing investigation into the racially motivated neo-Nazi murder of 10 people almost a decade ago in Germany died in her apartment on Saturday in the southwestern city of Karlsruhe.

According to the Karlsruhe police and prosecutors, the woman testified to the NSU Crimes Investigation Commission established by the Baden-Württemberg state assembly three weeks ago.

The woman, whose name was Melissa M., was initially found in the apartment by her boyfriend. She was in severe pain and though they sought medical attention, doctors were unable to save her life. The preliminary report on the cause of death indicates a pulmonary embolism. Melissa M. was the former girlfriend of Florian H., a suspect in the neo-Nazi case who mysteriously died in a burning car the day he was expected to testify before the NSU Crimes Investigation Commission in 2013. Florian H. allegedly knew the main suspect in the murder of German police officer Michèle Kiesewetter who was killed by the far-right terrorist group the NSU in Heidelberg in 2007.

Melissa M. had told the NSU Crimes Investigation Commission privately that she was afraid of providing more details related to the case as she felt her life was under threat.
Florian H.'s case was renewed after his family found the remains of a key and a gun in the victim's burned car and turned them in to the police as evidence. Why the police apparently did not see the items in the car back in 2013 still remains a puzzle.

The NSU case regarding the murders of eight Turkish small business owners and a Greek immigrant between 2000 and 2006, as well as a German policewoman in 2007, is still controversial. After more than a decade, the case suddenly came to light by chance in late 2011. German Chancellor Angela Merkel publicly apologized to the families of the 10 neo-Nazi victims in 2012 after suspicions of the involvement of some German state institutions were raised, and she also participated in the memorial service for the victims. The case has led to the intense criticism of Germany's intelligence services. (Cihan/Today's Zaman)