Mannheim knife assault rebuked by Baerbock and Nouripour

Political rally for voting - Mannheim knife assault rebuked by Baerbock and Nouripour

The German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, along with Omid Nouripour, the Green Party chair, firmly condemned the vicious knife attack on participants at an anti-Islamic demonstration in Mannheim. During a Green Party campaign event in Hamburg on Friday, Baerbock expressed her disbelief at such a senseless act, "Anyone who would attack someone in this country like this, shoving a knife into them, is utterly insane." She continued by saying, "Hate speech and hatred are unacceptable, no matter where they come from." Nouripour felt that he didn't necessarily align with the views of those attending the Islam-critical demonstration, yet he emphatically stated, "It's shocking when someone attacks people with a knife and stabs them. It's intolerable, regardless of what ideology was being represented." My deepest sympathies go out to those injured, especially the severely injured police officer.

On Friday, an assailant inflicted harm on six people on the Mannheim market square. The attack deliberately targeted the participants of an event by the anti-Islamic organization Pax Europa, according to police reports. Stefanie Kizina, Pax Europa's treasurer, confirmed that Michael Stürzenberger, a board member of the group, was one of the injured. Meanwhile, the police fatally shot the perpetrator who was hurt in the process.

The Bavarian counter-espionage agency's report for the year 2022 stated that there were "concrete proof" of efforts made by Stürzenberger and the Bavarian branch of Pax Europa to "undermine constitutional rights for Muslims." Pax Europa and the Bavarian branch were no longer mentioned in the 2023 counter-espionage agency's report. The agency explained that this was solely due to a decrease in their activity. Both Stürzenberger and the Bavarian branch are still under surveillance.

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1. Annalena Baerbock, Germany's Foreign Minister, and Omid Nouripour, the Green Party chairman, strongly denounced the violent knife attack on attendees of an anti-Islamic demonstration in Mannheim during their election campaign event in Hamburg.
2. Baerbock was dismayed by the senseless act of pushing a knife into someone in Germany and expressed her disdain for hate speech and hatefulness, regardless of their origin.
3. Nouripour, while not sharing the views of those attending the Islam-critical demonstration, was appalled by the knife attack, stating it was unacceptable and indefensible, regardless of the ideology being represented.
4. In Mannheim, six people were harmed, including Michael Stürzenberger, a board member of Pax Europa, during an event organized by the anti-Islamic organization Pax Europa on the market square.
5. The Bavarian counter-espionage agency's report from 2022 revealed evidence of attempts by Stürzenberger and Pax Europa's Bavarian branch to curtail constitutional rights for Muslims, leading to their surveillance.
6. The police fatally shot the attacker during the incident, and despite the decline in Pax Europa's activities, both Stürzenberger and the Bavarian branch remain under close observation by the authorities.

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