Murder suspect also facing sex assault charge (Canada)

Robert David Reitmeier

One of two skinheads, who are believed to belong to a white supremacist group in Calgary, and will be in court today on second-degree murder charges, was in court on Tuesday to face charges related to a 2009 sexual assault.

Robert David Reitmeier, 24, is accused of sexual assault and unlawful confinement of a woman at a party in the city on April 29, 2009.

He also is charged with failing to comply with probation conditions.

Crown prosecutor Karuna Ramakrishnan, assigned to the sexual assault case, said following the appearance in provincial court that Reitmeier and the alleged victim did not know each other, but were “beyond casual acquaintances.”

The victim cannot be named because of a court-ordered ban.

Ramakrishnan said Reitmeier was not charged until April 29, when he was allegedly identified through a DNA match from the assault two years earlier.

Lawyer Nick D’Souza, who appeared in court for Reitmeier on Tuesday, said he has virtually no information on the 2009 charges as he has not yet received any Crown disclosure.

Reitmeier and Tyler William Sturrup, 26, suspected leaders of the WEB, or Western European Bloodline white pride group, were arrested May 31 in connection with the killing of Mark Mariani of Calgary in October 2010.

Mariani, a 47-year-old who was attacked by a group of men in an alley in the 1500 block of 16th Avenue N.W., was believed to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Police investigators said although the two suspects are white supremacists, there’s no indication that affiliation had any connection to the crime.

Although police wouldn’t disclose a motive for the killing of Mariani, Staff Sgt. Doug Andrus of the homicide unit said last week it appeared unprovoked.

Police said Sturrup, 26, was arrested in Edmonton, and Reitmeier, 24, in Calgary last week.

The WEB is one of two known white supremacist groups in Calgary since the disbanding of the Aryan Guard.

Calgary Herald

Women give neo-Nazi scene a face-lift (Germany)

Men make up the majority of neo-Nazis, but emancipation has also forged new territory for women in right-extremist circles in Germany. A new book sheds light on female neo-Nazis

Women want to have their say. That slogan from the 1960's women liberation movement still echoes through to today. And it's a rallying cry that leaders from Germany's National Democratic Party, the NPD, have picked up on.

The NPD, which is not prohibited in Germany, uses women to lure people into the right-extremist movement, maintain authors Andrea Röpke and Andreas Speit. Their new book "Mädelsache! Frauen in der Neo-Nazi-Szene" ("Girls' Business: Women in the Neo-Nazi Scene") illuminates how women are used as ambassadors for the movement.

A mother of several children wins the hearts of people much more easily than a young man with tattoos chanting xenophobic slogans, said author Speit. "Many people think 'If women are part of it, it can't be so bad,'" he observed.

The strategy seems to work, as regional elections in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt this past March showed. NPD women reaped an impressive number of votes.

Wolves in sheeps' clothing

Röpke and Speit's book looks at the various right-extremist groups in Germany. It's a heterogeneous movement that includes a right-wing women's organization, as well as numerous rightist enclaves such as the National Women's Circle - an association linked to the NPD.

Other smaller groups or associations do not appear to be right-extremist at first glance. On the contrary, one could almost take them to be "granola heads" - save the environment hippies donned in handmade clothing or dirndl-like dresses, living cozily amongst their kind in rural communities.

But at second-glance, say the authors, one notices the Prussian rigidity with which the mothers raise their children. It's a harsh approach that glorifies discipline and German tradition. This breed refuses to use English words that have long found their way into colloquial German. "T-shirt" thus becomes "T-Hemd," "Weltnetz" (World Web) is used rather than "Internet," "Gemüsetorte" (Vegetable Cake) rather than "Pizza."

The danger of underestimation

That all may sound so "yesterday," but authors Röpke and Speit stress that one should not underestimate the power and reach of women within the right-extremist movement. They have a stabilizing function within their groups; they are particularly loyal in toeing the NPD party line; and they have a major impact on how children and youth are raised.

They also don't stay within their own extremist enclaves, but are often employed as social workers or caregivers in pre-schools or daycare centers. There, they can easily recruit members for the movement - one with no shortage of young people, Speit said.

The book "Mädelsache" illuminates just how underestimated these right-extremist women are, especially in their ability to appeal to mainstream society far better than men. But as moderate as the women may appear, the authors make clear their connections to organizations touting non-democratic, racist beliefs.

DW-World

Plea to ignore West Yorkshire EDL demonstration (UK)

Residents in Dewsbury are being urged to ignore a planned demonstration by the controversial English Defence League (EDL) this Saturday.

Around 500 supporters of the group are expected to rally outside Dewsbury Town Hall from 2pm.

In the past, EDL demos, such as one held in Leeds in 2009 have flared into violence with clashes between the EDL and rival anti-racism campaigners who have turned out to protest.

Today, bosses at Kirklees Council urged residents to show the town’s multi-cultural communities could live in harmony.

A spokesman said: “The prime concern is the safety and well being of our local people and local communities.

“We are committed to ensuring that our residents can enjoy their public spaces.

“We of course recognise the right of all citizens to peaceful demonstration and will respond to the planned EDL demonstration to ensure that this right is protected in a way that also respects the needs and views of our residents.

“We would urge our communities to ignore the demonstrators and prove that Dewsbury is truly a place where different communities can thrive together without conflict.”

Officers from eight forces were drafted in to police the EDL demo in Leeds in October 2009, leaving taxpayers with a £345,000 bill.

West Yorkshire Police says it aims to contain the demo.

Chief Superintendent John Robinson said: “We will facilitate a peaceful protest. Between now and then we are preparing to make sure that the event goes peacefully.

“Clearly the message to the EDL is that we will treat you fairly but firmly to ensure it is a peaceful protest.”

Yorkshire Evening Post

Hustles in Brussels, BNP style. (UK)

Following onto the previous post here's the two part video footage of what happened in Brussels when Nick Griffin gate crashed a meeting held by fellow BNP MEP Andrew Brons.

BNP fight club (Hope Not Hate, UK)

BNP members (and the wider public ) finally got to see the much sought after footage of the BNP's fractured leadership rounding on each other angrily, after the footage was finally put on the net last night.

The bitter confrontation happened in Brussels a couple of weeks ago when a group of BNP members on a trip to the European Parliament at the tax payers expense, were being treated to a Q&A session by Yorks & Humberside MEP Andrew Brons, when in popped the uninvited Nick Griffin to launch a quite extraordinary attack on the people there.

Most of his vitriol was directed at Michael Barnbrook, the BNP's self seeking "sleaze buster" who never quite seemed capable of turning his attentions onto his own party leader, until recently. Described as a "show pony", Barnbrook was given the full "hairdryer" treatment by Griffin, while last year's beaten leadership challenger, Eddy Butler, was accused of being a liar. For his own efforts, Griffin even accused Brons of publishing a website "full of lies".

News of Griffin's decision to hold his EGM on June 26th (as exclusively revealed here), also came as somewhat as a shock to Brons, as he was initialy scheduled to speak to party rebels in the North East on that day, on the very subject of a need to call and EGM...

Hope Not Hate