Germany brands Eritrean opposition group a "domestic terrorist organisation," detains two

Germany's Federal Public Prosecutor's Office has designated Brigade N'Hamedu, also known as Brigade N'Hamedu Germany, a "domestic terrorist organisation," Martin Plaut reported on 17 September 2026, after prosecutors announced the detention of two of its members on 15 September.

The group draws its membership from both Eritrean and German nationals and states its aim as overthrowing the government of President Isaias Afwerki, according to the report. One of the two people detained is Eritrean and the other German; prosecutors said the group's first chairman was German, while an Eritrean member served as its secretary-general.

Raids across two countries

The detentions follow a wider investigation. In March 2025, some 19 properties were searched across Germany, with additional raids in Denmark, involving roughly 200 officers from the Federal Criminal Police Office and state police forces, the report said.

Alleged violence at community events

Prosecutors allege the group's members were involved in violence at Eritrean community festivals in Giessen in the summers of 2022 and 2023, and at a seminar in Stuttgart in September 2023. According to the report, prosecutors said the group's members "regarded violence against German state institutions... as a legitimate means."

Context

Eritrea has a population of roughly 4 million, has never held an election, and remains a one-party state under Afwerki, with systematic repression there documented by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, the report notes.

This report draws on reporting from Martin Plaut.