Germany investigates Turkish deputy over ultranationalist statement

The Duesseldorf prosecutor's office has launched an investigation into Turkish deputy Mustafa Acikgoz over a hate speech he delivered during a meeting of an ultranationalist group in the German city of Neuss, Deutsche Welle Turkish reported.

Acikgoz, a deputy for Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP),) posted a video on Twitter on January 13 showing his address to supporters of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in Germany, urging them to "be vigilant" and "not tolerate" members and sympathizers of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Gulenist movement-which he referred to as the "FETO," or "Fetullahist Terrorist Organization"

The spokesman for the Duesseldorf public prosecutor's office said they had begun investigating whether Acikgoz's words constituted a criminal offense after officials from the Neuss city police said four criminal charges had been filed against the AKP politician following his speech.

In the video, Acikgoz can be seen saying:

"We will not let them survive in Turkey. We actually finished them off there. God willing, we will find them in their holes wherever they hide in the world, and we will destroy them. You do not need to doubt that. The only thing we need is our unity."

Following strong protests against the statement, the German Foreign Ministry summoned the Turkish ambassador to Berlin on Monday and strongly condemned the MP's speech in Neuss.

Acikgoz's speech came days after Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution ( BfV) warned that the Turkish nationalist movement in Germany posed one of the biggest threats to the country's democratic order.