Defense minister withdraws more soldiers from Lithuania
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has reacted to the allegations of sexual coercion and right-wing extremism in a Bundeswehr unit in Lithuania: The entire unit will be relieved, the perpetrators are going to be punished severely.
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SPIEGEL report had previously revealed that the
Bundeswehr had meanwhile withdrawn four German soldiers from a NATO mission in Lithuania after alleged serious misconduct at an internal celebration that got out of hand. Investigations had revealed initial suspicions of crimes such as sexual assault, insult, possibly with a racist background, and coercion, as well as extremist behavior, according to the Ministry of Defense.
At the party, which took place on April 30 in a hotel in the Rukla region, some soldiers of an armored infantry platoon were so drunk and partied so hard during a so-called recovery weekend that the hotel staff alerted the German military police. A soldier wanted to put his penis in the mouth of a sleeping comrade during the party in the hotel. Another soldier is said to have filmed this.
Even more serious is what came out only in the course of the further interrogations. Soldiers reported that comrades from their platoon were said to have singed a birthday serenade for
Adolf Hitler on April 20 .
The incident apparently took place in the barracks of the Lithuanian army in Rukla and was even noticed by a superior. In any case, an internal note states that the soldiers sang the song against the clear orders of a sergeant. Apparently he made no report.