Overview
- The Administrative Court in Berlin on Tuesday rejected a Berlin lawyer’s suit and upheld the Bundeswehr’s decision to defer his reserve training to retirement age.
- Judges said his participation in Identitarian Movement events in 2017, which he also described on social media, signaled public alignment with the group’s goals.
- The court found he failed to dispel doubts about his loyalty to the democratic order and said bringing him into service would seriously risk the military’s reputation.
- The Bundeswehr cited the Soldatengesetz, a law that allows action when there is even the appearance of proximity to extremists, and the court affirmed that standard.
- The plaintiff says he cut ties with the Identitarian Movement in autumn 2017, and he can now seek a non-admission complaint at the Federal Administrative Court.