Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer today banned all activities by the Shiite terrorist organization Hezbollah (in English: Party of God, also transliterated as Hizbollah and Hizbullah) in Germany. At 6 a.m. this morning, police authorities conducted searches of premises in cities including Berlin, Bremen, Münster, Recklinghausen and Dortmund. 

The banning order against Hezbollah is based on section 3 (1) in conjunction with section 15 (1) and section 18 sentence 2 of the Act Governing Private Associations (Vereinsgesetz, VereinsG), because the activities of Hezbollah violate criminal law and the organization opposes the concept of international understanding. As Hezbollah is a foreign association, it is not possible to ban and disband the organization itself. 

According to the order imposing the ban, it is prohibited to use symbols of Hezbollah publicly, in an assembly, or for example in print, audio or visual material. In addition, the assets of Hezbollah available in the scope of application of the Act Governing Private Associations are to be confiscated and forfeited to the benefit of the Federal Republic of Germany. 

As the authority responsible for issuing the ban, the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community is of the opinion that Hezbollah openly calls for the violent elimination of the State of Israel and questions the right of the State of Israel to exist. The organization is therefore fundamentally against the concept of international understanding, regardless of whether it presents itself as a political, social or military structure. 

The German security authorities use all available instruments of the rule of law to crack down on terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and take strict measures against their activities in Germany. As well as the ban which came into force today, this includes investigating sub-organizations based here in Germany. 

To ensure that evidence of potential sub-organizations in Germany could not be destroyed when this ban was announced, at 6 a.m. today police authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bremen and Berlin have been conducting searches in a total of four association premises and the private residences of the leaders of each association. The associations under investigation are suspected of forming part of Hezbollah due to their financial support and propaganda for the terrorist organization.