Girl charged with 'fake' neo-Nazi attack 15/05/2008 00:00

A girl from the east of Germany has been charged with faking a racist neo-Nazi attack

Chemnitz -- An 18-year-old girl who claimed that neo-Nazis scratched a swastika on her thigh after she defended a child from a racist attack has been charged in Germany with faking a crime, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The alleged attack in November last year shocked Germany, with commentators calling for a crackdown on neo-Nazi thugs.

Police in the eastern town of Mittweida, near the Czech border, say an extensive inquiry has failed to produce any corroborating evidence. The girl was suspected of scoring the swastika into her own skin, prosecutors in the city of Chemnitz said.

She claimed four youths with shaven heads had shoved an immigrant girl aged about 5 of Soviet origin. When the 18-year-old protested, they had held the teenager down and scratched her on a car-park as residents watched from the balconies of nearby apartments.

The 18-year-old's lawyer charged several weeks ago that there was a conspiracy of silence to protect neo-Nazis in Mittweida. He accused police of falling for a deception and not trying hard enough.

The rival claims are likely to be aired at the girl's trial in the town of Hainichen. DPA