German neo-Nazi terrorist suspect to break her silence in trial

Munich (dpa) - A suspected member of a German neo-Nazi terrorist cell plans to break her silence and testify at her trial on Wednesday, her lawyer said on Monday.Beate Zschaepe, who has been on trial since May 2013 as an accomplice in a series of racially-motivated murders across Germany, wants to respond "to every single point" that has been raised during the course of the protracted trial, Mathias Grasel told state radio.Zschape is alleged to be the only remaining member of the so-called National Socialist Underground (NSU), which prosecutors claim was responsible for the slaying of eight Turkish citizens, one Greek citizen and a German police officer between 2000 and 2007.The two other alleged NSU members, Uwe Boehnhardt and Uwe Mundlos, were found dead in a caravan in 2011 following an apparent murder-suicide as police closed in on them after a bank robbery.Zschaepe later turned herself in after allegedly setting fire to the apartment in the eastern German town of Zwickau where she lived with Mundlos and Boehnhardt.In addition to being an accomplice to ten murders, two bombings and 15 robberies, Zschaepe has also been charged with arson and being the founding member of a terrorist organization. Up until now, Zschaepe‘s three other lawyers had stopped her from speaking out in the court leading to tensions between the 40-year-old defendant and her court-appointed defence team - Wolfgang Heer, Wolfgang Stahl and Anja Sturm. Zschaepe has called on the court to dismiss the three original lawyers, who have also sought to resign from the case. The court has rejected their request. Grasel was appointed to the case in July this year.The Munich court where the case is being heard has not called any witnesses for Wednesday or Thursday.German Chancellor Angela Merkel has publicly apologized to the relatives of the victims of the NSU after what was found to be a botched police investigation into the killings.