Resignation following Stade killings: Migration commissioner Kurku steps down
Following the six-person killing in Stade, Lower Saxony's migration commissioner Deniz Kurku is stepping down – his mother-in-law drove the getaway vehicle.
Lower Saxony's integration commissioner draws consequences from Stade killings
Lower Saxony's state commissioner for migration and participation, Deniz Kurku (44, SPD), intends to resign from his office. This is reported by BILD citing information from Der Spiegel. Kurku justifies the move by saying he can no longer carry out his duties as migration commissioner "to the required extent under the given conditions". He holds the position on a voluntary basis.
The trigger for the resignation is the Stade killing on 29 June: Fatih G. (†45), a Turkish national subject to deportation, shot dead six people at a youth welfare facility. His presumed motive was revenge – he had previously had custody of his daughter taken away because he allegedly severely injured the baby by shaking.
The connection to Kurku arose through a family coincidence: precisely his mother-in-law Sylvia S. (65) drove the perpetrator's getaway vehicle. The police stopped the Mercedes-AMG by shooting out the tyres. Fatih G. was remanded in custody and hanged himself there on 21 July with a piece of bed sheet. Sylvia S., by contrast, remained at liberty – due to lack of sufficient grounds for suspicion, as the prosecutor's office stated. Investigation continues against her and the child's mother. Sylvia S. had accompanied Fatih G. to the appointment at the facility and had advocated for his family before the act.
Kurku did not attend the meeting of the interior committee in the state parliament on Thursday, at which the six-person killing in Stade was on the agenda.
According to Der Spiegel, right-wing media portals had claimed that the state commissioner was personally involved in the case. Evidence that Kurku knew of the deed in advance or knew Fatih G. was, it is reported, not presented.
Prime Minister Olaf Lies (59, SPD) thanked Kurku in a statement for his commitment. The state commissioner had worked with "great dedication and much passion" for participation and coexistence in Lower Saxony, also for displaced persons and ethnic German resettlers. His resignation deserved "recognition and respect", according to Lies.
At the same time, according to Der Spiegel, the Prime Minister condemned the treatment of Kurku in sharp terms: "The degrading comments, the spread of conspiracy speculation, the hostilities including death threats against Deniz Kurku are completely unacceptable and are condemned by me in the strongest possible terms."
Source: BILD