Serious allegations against GdP deputy Hüber: assault on East German refugee?
A former East German border soldier has made sworn allegations against police union official Sven Hüber concerning the alleged mistreatment of a refugee in 1988.
GdP deputy Hüber under pressure: eyewitness describes incident with East German refugee
Sven Hüber (62), deputy federal chairman of the Police Union (GdP) and chief of the main personnel council of the Federal Police, faces new serious accusations. According to BILD, the portal "Apollo News" published allegations from Hüber's time as an officer in the East German border troops at the Berlin Wall – based on sworn statements from a former border soldier.
In the late 1980s, Hüber was a political officer and deputy company commander at a Berlin border regiment. The former border soldier Axel Krause told "Apollo News" that Hüber had defended the service regulations of the time, according to which border violators were to be "tracked down, arrested or destroyed". Even after the wording was officially changed in early 1988, Krause recalls that Hüber held to the term "destroyed" and declared it still to be valid.
Allegation: pistol placed in prisoner's mouth
Particularly serious is an incident that Krause describes as occurring in spring 1988: at the arrest of an East German refugee, Hüber allegedly came to the scene as the duty officer. Krause states that he personally witnessed a man pinned to the ground being kicked in the face.
However, Krause bases the allegation that Hüber placed a pistol in the prisoner's mouth on the report of a comrade, not on his own observation. "Apollo News" also relies on Stasi records, which are said to support parts of the account. According to the portal, DDR researcher Hubertus Knabe (67) was able to verify parts of Krause's statements using archived documents.
Hüber denies all allegations
Hüber denied all accusations through his lawyer. According to the "Apollo" authors, however, the six-page letter from his lawyer may not be quoted.
The eyewitness's statements are based on memories of events that occurred more than three decades ago. Krause describes his observations in a video interview on the portal.
Inopportune timing – retirement imminent
The new investigations come at an already difficult time for Hüber. He came under nationwide criticism in mid-August after he suggested in an article that in the event of an AfD election victory in Saxony-Anhalt, a state of emergency could be declared and police officers would have to offer resistance. The GdP national leadership nonetheless stood by him: national chairman Jochen Kopelke (42) explicitly defended his deputy, but admitted that Hüber's Wikipedia entry had been changed by the GdP.
Particularly controversial: Hüber is due to retire these days – apparently with a formal farewell ceremony by a state secretary in the Federal Interior Ministry.
Source: BILD