Five on trial over plot to kidnap German health minister and topple government

Two judiciary vans, each carrying defendants, drive in a courtyard before the start of the trial against members of the United Patriots group at the Higher Regional Court in Koblenz, Germany (Sebastian Gollnow/dpa/AP)

Five people are set to go on trial in Germany accused of planning a far-right coup and to kidnap the country’s health minister.

Four men aged 44 to 56 and a 75-year-old woman are accused of treason and founding or being members of a terrorist organisation.