The trial concerning the crimes of the National Socialist Underground (NSU), a German neo-Nazi gang accused of killing eight Turks, has cost Germany more than 55 million euros.

Yet, it is still far from concluding with repeated demands by defendants for recusal of judges, 385 hearings later. Moreover, critics say the trial failed to shed light on connections of the gang and alleged knowledge of the intelligence service about its existence before it was "accidentally" discovered in 2011.

The NSU consisted of three people: Uwe Mundlos, Uwe Boehnhard and Beate Zschaepe. Zschaepe is the only surviving member and is currently on trial with Andre E., Ralf Wohlleben, Carsten S. and Holger G., who are accused of aiding the gang. The gang killed eight Turks and a Greek national in racially motivated murders in early 2000s. It is also responsible for killing a policewoman, bank robberies and bomb attacks.

In the fourth year of the trial, families of victims are concerned about the process. Defense lawyers asked for recusals on more than 40 occasions in the trial, further prolonging it. Most recusals came after the federal prosecutor in the Munich court presented his final arguments on Sept. 12 and asked for the defendants to be punished.

Plaintiffs' lawyers were expecting progress in the case when the judges announced that they did not accept recusal requests on Oct. 24. Yet, a lawyer for Andre E. asked for a new hearing the next day and again presented a new recusal request. The court adjourned the hearing to Nov. 9 after the request, effectively scrapping all the hearings scheduled to continue until the end of the month. The verdict dashed the hopes of plaintiffs who expected the trial to conclude by the end of 2017.

A prolonged trial means more costs for Germany. Every hearing costs about 150,000 euros in what has been dubbed as one of the most comprehensive trials in the country.