Illegal activity - Eco-politician Assaulted in Lower Saxony
A legislator in Lower Saxony was recently targeted in a string of attacks on politicians – Green Party member Marie Kollenrott was assaulted and sustained minor injuries while campaigning in Göttingen. Police and the Green Party confirmed this news.
Bundestag deputy leader Katrin Göring-Eckardt (Greens) spoke out against the violence, urging the defense of democracy. "We won't back down! We'll safeguard democracy in this country," she stated on Platform X. She also wished Kollenrott a speedy recovery, "physically and mentally." Green representative Jürgen Trittin echoed this, stating "Violence must not be tolerated." The political director of the Greens, Emily Büning, added, "Another politically motivated attack that threatens our democracy and free elections. We won't waver!"
The alleged assailant was promptly arrested close to the scene of the crime. The man, 66 years old, was identified, and then released. The state security department investigating political crimes is now looking into the matter. According to the police, the man from Göttingen had made derogatory comments about the Green Party during the campaign in a pedestrian zone by the Old Town Hall. Following a brief political discussion, he attacked the politician.
Recent attacks on politicians and campaign workers have rocked the nation. SPD candidate Matthias Ecke was savagely beaten in Dresden, while local politician Yvonne Mosler (Greens) was shoved and threatened when putting up election posters. In Berlin, a suspect with suspected connections to the AfD party was sent to a psychiatric ward after an altercation with Senator for Economic Affairs Franziska Giffey (SPD). Likewise, an AfD member of parliament from Lower Saxony was targeted recently.
The Federal Criminal Police Office is alarmed by the spike in criminal acts against public officials and elected representatives, totaling 5,400 in the last five years. Head of the agency, Holger Münch, stated that while most of these incidents are non-violent, the trend is a cause for concern. "We need to be vigilant and alert to prevent escalation into attempted or completed murder, such as the case of Walter Lübcke," he remarked.
On June 2, 2019, the Hessian CDU politician Walter Lübcke was fatally shot by a right-wing extremist outside his home, marking the first politically motivated murder of a German politician by a neo-Nazi.
Münch noted that discontent with state institutions has fueled insults, threats, and violence. He predicted this risk will continue with the upcoming elections on June 9 and additional state parliaments in Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg in September.
Lower Saxony's Minister President Stephan Weil (SPD) expressed his dismay over the repeated assaults on politicians: "It's unacceptable that politicians face violent attacks during campaigns. This trend is dangerous."
The leader of the Green Party's parliamentary faction in Lower Saxony, Anne Kura, vehemently denounced the attack: "We're stunned but won't be discouraged." Other Green members shared similar sentiments. The head of the CDU parliamentary group in Lower Saxony, Sebastian Lechner, denounced the "cowardly attack" on Kollenrott "in the strongest terms." The assailant, he said, "must face the full weight of the law."
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Source: www.stern.de
