Frankfurt lawyer Seda Basay-Yildiz has had years of experience with anonymous threats and insults. But the “NSU 2.0” threats against her family were of a different caliber.
Outwardly, Seda Basay-Yildiz appears relaxed, her voice sounds calm as she answers questions from the court in the Frankfurt Regional Court on the witness chair.
Her place as a criminal defense attorney is usually next to an accused or alongside the joint plaintiffs – such as in the Munich NSU trial, when she represented the family of the first victim of the right-wing extremist terrorist cell “National Socialist Underground” (NSU). In the process of the “NSU 2.0” threatening letter, however, the Frankfurt lawyer is affected, a joint plaintiff and a witness this Monday.
The lawyer speaks in a clear voice, calmly, as she comments on racist insults and nasty threats in the almost 20 threatening letters she has been writing since August 2018 – a few days after the verdict in the NSU trial and in a case that attracted a great deal of attention deportation of an Islamist – by fax and later by e-mail.
A limit is crossed
She said in her statement that she was traveling abroad on business when she received the fax that had arrived at her law firm late in the evening. In it, her then 22-month-old daughter was named and threatened. She should be “slaughtered”.
A line had been crossed for the lawyer. She says she gets hundreds of letters during a case with media attention. Rape and killing fantasies abound. “You can’t imagine what’s coming. There is talk of gassing, slaughter, killing.” But now it was about the little daughter. She alerted her husband that night and filed a complaint the next morning.
The fax was not the last. Private and not publicly accessible data was mentioned, the names and dates of birth of her parents, and again and again the details of her daughter. “That did something to me,” admits the lawyer.
Worries, fears, protective measures
Her home, which was always a safe haven, was filled with worries and fears at the latest when the address with the blocking notice was published on the Internet – on the anniversary of the Hanau attack of all things. Protective measures were required. The mother saw strangers “creeping around the house and taking pictures,” says the lawyer.
She is not someone who is prone to hysteria and panics when threatened. But the recent past has shown that words can be followed by deeds: “Mr. Walter Lübcke was killed and Hanau came.”
Since the beginning of the threatening letters, an adult has always been with the little daughter, whether on the way to daycare or the playground. Luckily, the little one still doesn’t understand what it’s all about. But her parents are very insecure, says Basay-Yildiz when asked about the effects of the threatening letter. “I can deal with it,” she says. “I have to stay calm so that it stays calm at home.” But some mandates in a case that means a lot of media attention, she now thinks twice.
Alexander M., accused of being the alleged author of the threatening letter, avoids any eye contact with Basay-Yildiz during this statement. The public prosecutor accuses the 54-year-old from Berlin of insults in 67 cases, attempted coercion and threats. It is also about public incitement to commit crimes, incitement to hatred, possession of child and youth pornography and a violation of the Weapons Act.
The series of threatening letters began in August 2018 with death threats against Basay-Yildiz and her family. The letters were addressed to private and public figures as well as authorities. Women who are publicly committed and successful were particularly often affected and exposed to severe insults and threats. In his statement last week, M. denied having written the letter.
Source: Stern
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