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Suspected “Reichsbürger” in Jülich nuclear plant?

Today (28.10.19), the Aachen Administrative Court is hearing a case brought by an ex-employee of the "Jülich Nuclear Waste Management Company".

The man worked for the waste management company for around 13 years until he was dismissed in April 2019. He was involved in the dismantling of the former experimental reactor and was therefore regularly checked for reliability. This is routine for people who are employed in the nuclear safety sector.

Reason for closer observation

In this case, the employee came to the attention of the authorities because he had a citizenship card issued by the district of Düren. This identity card, also known as a “yellow certificate”, is not normally required by normal citizens. It is only required if an authority has doubts about a citizen’s German citizenship.

For many citizens of the Reich, however, the Yellow Certificate is the only official document that is accepted as such. In one interpretation or another, they are convinced that the Federal Republic of Germany lacks the status of a legitimate and sovereign state. As a result, they reject the Federal Republic of Germany and its legal system. According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the Reichsbürger scene can be classified as anti-state.

Nuclear regulatory authority drew consequences

The ex-employee of the Jülich nuclear plant was finally denied nuclear reliability by the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Economic Affairs after his case was investigated on suspicion of being a Reichsbürger. This was the reason for his dismissal. In addition to applying for a citizenship card, the man had also published comments on his Facebook page, which prompted more detailed investigations.

Freedom of expression as a justification?

He now denies the allegations in court and claims that he is not a Reichsbürger. According to the authorities, he has already deleted the controversial Facebook posts. For all other comments that are still online, he has merely exercised his right to freedom of expression under Article 5 of the German Basic Law.

It remains to be seen whether the judges will agree with the plaintiff in this respect and consider the termination to be unlawful.

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