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The German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) reported in its 2024 annual assessment that the PKK terrorist organization collected between €14 and 15 million ($16-17M) through alleged donation campaigns, marking the first revenue decline after collecting €16-17 million ($18.2-19.4M) in 2023.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and BfV Deputy Director Sinan Selen announced the "2024 situation report" at a joint press conference in the capital, Berlin.
According to the German intelligence report, the PKK has been banned in Germany since 1993 and listed as a terrorist organization by the EU since 2002.
The organization's primary activities in Germany include logistical and financial support for the overall organization, recruitment of new supporters, and conducting numerous propaganda events.
The PKK is structured hierarchically in Germany, divided into 4 sectors, 9 regions, and 31 areas, each led by a leadership functionary. At the organizational apex stands the umbrella organization named KON-MED.
The report details that the PKK claimed responsibility for a terrorist attack on Oct. 23, 2024, against Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) in Ankara, killing five people besides the two attackers and injuring others.
The PKK terrorists first killed a taxi driver, then drove to TAI headquarters, where they detonated an explosive device. Following the Ankara attack, terrorist group PKK supporters demonstrated across Germany, including a Nov. 16, 2024, protest in Cologne with approximately 7,200 participants.
Notably, participants displayed banners featuring images of the two Ankara attackers.
The German report reveals extensive PKK recruitment activities targeting primarily young supporters for armed combat in some settlement areas.
The organization uses personal outreach through PKK cadres and youth organizations, as well as its media apparatus.
Since June 2013, more than 310 people have left Germany to join the PKK terrorist organization, according to the report. Of those who departed, at least 42 have been killed, and approximately 160 have returned to Germany.
The report emphasized that the PKK remains the organization with the most members and wide capabilities among foreign-related extremism in Germany, with 15,000 PKK sympathizers in the country.
Despite maintaining a largely non-violent appearance in Europe, the PKK continues to commit terrorist attacks in Türkiye. The organization's extensive events demonstrate both willingness and capability to extensively mobilize supporters and appeal to additional people for their causes.
The report detailed several major convictions in 2024:
Additional legal proceedings remain pending, and several suspected PKK ringleaders were arrested in Germany during 2024.
Minister Dobrindt emphasized that Germany's constitutional order faces attacks almost daily.
"We fight with all our capabilities against the enemies of our democracy. Our security forces remain alert and work day and night to protect our freedom. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution is indispensable as an effective early warning system and an important protective barrier against all kinds of democracy enemies," Dobrindt stated.
BfV Deputy Director Sinan Selen added, "In a complex threat environment, Germany must defend its security interests. The BfV, together with national and international partners, fulfills an extremely challenging mission to defend the liberal democratic order against multi-dimensional attacks."
According to the domestic intelligence report, extremist crimes increased 46% in 2024, reaching 57,701 cases.
Of these crimes, 2,976 involved violence, while the total number of crimes committed by extremists, including far-right and far-left groups, was 39,433 in 2023.
The 410-page intelligence report revealed that the number of far-right extremists in Germany increased by 10,000 people compared to 2023, rising to 50,250.
The country had 38,800 far-right extremists in 2022 and 40,600 in 2023, with violence-prone far-right extremists increasing by 800 people to 15,300 in the past year.
The Protection of the Constitution report indicated that crimes committed by far-right extremists increased 47.4 percent to 37,835 cases. Far-right involvement in violent incidents reached 1,281 cases, including 6 attempted murders.
The report attributed the rise to state elections and early general election decisions, with far-right groups committing 24,177 propaganda crimes in 2024.
The intelligence report noted a significant increase in xenophobic crimes in 2024. Such crimes increased 25.3% to 13,035 recorded cases, compared to 10,402 in 2023. Violent xenophobic crimes rose 5.4% to 983 cases.
North Rhine-Westphalia state recorded the highest number of far-right violent cases with 154 crimes.
The report showed increased far-right membership within political parties, rising from 15,500 in 2022 to 16,300 in 2023 and 25,000 in 2024.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party had 20,000 far-right supporters, making it the party with the most extremist backing.
The Reichsburger (Reich Citizens) movement, which refuses to recognize the Federal Republic of Germany as a state, increased by 1,000 members to 26,000, with 2,500 classified as violence-prone.
Left-wing extremists increased from 37,000 to 38,000 in 2024, with violence-oriented left-wing extremists numbering 11,200. Left-wing violent incidents increased 37.9% compared to 2023, reaching 5,857 cases, with most violent crimes committed against police and security forces.
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