found on de.indymedia.org
In mid-March 2023, an attempt was made by the German domestic Federal Intelligence Service (Verfassungsschutz, VS) to chat up a person in Dresden. The person was stopped in front of the workplace after an irregular, spontaneous, shift.
The agent (~30 years, ~1.70m, perceived as male by the person addressed, red hair and short red beard, freckles) wanted to talk about “problems with Nazis”. He quickly introduced himself independently as a member of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Intelligence Service), unfortunately the information was lost as to whether it was a federal or regional office. The agent mainly wanted to make another appointment, but he remained quite friendly and could also be rejected quickly, so the conversation was ended quickly.
Again and again, the German Intelligence Agency (Verfassungsschutz) tries to chat us up. It is not always just a matter of gathering information and recruiting people as informers. Individuals are specifically approached in order to make them feel insecure and to expose them to a feeling that state repression authorities are observing the person or at least have them in their sights.
In recent years, there have been several chat-up attempts by the Intelligence Service in Saxony, including in Leipzig in 2020, 2022 and 2023.
Attempts to chat up, surveillance and repressive measures against anti-authoritarian structures are on the agenda of the Intelligence Services. In the process, the Intelligence Service repeatedly attempts to present itself as neutral, acting against “left-wing and right-wing” structures.
The involvement of the German Intelligence Service in the NSU (Nationalsocialist Underground) complex or the role of Hans-Georg Maaßen, for example, as the long-time president of the German Intelligence Service, show that right-wing extremist structures were financed and supported to a large extent by the agency.
What can you do when you are approached by the Intelligence Service?
Often the Intelligence Service tries to intercept you in situations where you do not expect it, such as at work or on the way home from work, or you are called on your cell phone. Chat-up attempts are usually unexpected, as authorities aim to catch people off guard and make them uncomfortable.
- Stay calm and confident in the situation.
- Ask to see the person’s ID badge to verify that it really is a person from the Intelligence Service.
- Do not reply to the requests for contact, but end the conversation quickly and make it clear that you have no interest in a conversation or an exchange. Neither about you, nor about other people, nor about possible things or situations without relevance. No matter what they tell you, whether they threaten you, intimidate you, or flatter you and speak kindly to you, you are not obliged to have a conversation.
- Remember the name and appearance of the person (and possibly car type and license plate ) who approached you.
- Talk about it in your groups if there was an attempt to chat you up.
- Inform local anti-repression structures like the ABC Dresden or the Legal Team Dresden (Ermittungsauschuss Dresden, EA) and other local structures about the attempt.
No conversation with police and Intelligence Service!
No cooperation with the repression authorities!
Abolish the Intelligence Service!
More information about attempts to chat up and the Federal Intelligence Service (VS) can be found here (in German):
https://antirepression.noblogs.org/files/2011/07/anquatsch.pdf