Number of Germany's right-wing "Reichsbuerger" members rises sharply

BERLIN, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The number of members of the so-called far-right group in Germany, "Reichsbuerger", rose to 15,600 in January this year, a 50 percent increase from the beginning of 2017, German news magazine Focus reported on Friday.

The "Reichsbuerger" group does not recognize the legitimacy of the Federal Republic of Germany, rather, believed that the German Reich still exists. Correspondingly, defying the federal governments or courts, the "Reichsbuerger" members usually refuse to pay taxes.

According to the Focus, a German-language news magazine, the biggest scene is in Bavaria, where the authorities reported about 3,500 "Reich citizens", followed by Baden-Wurttemberg with 2,500 and North Rhine-Westphalia with 2,200.

The Reichsbuerger movement, commencing from 1980s, has existed in Germany and beyond for decades. However, the violent and extreme propensity of the members raised security concerns.

The Focus report said more than 1,000 Reichsbuerger have a licence to bear arms, giving rise to concerns that the group possesses a large number of legal and illegal weapons. Enditem