NOS News•today, 1:26 PM•Amended today, 1:57 PM
Police in Dresden have identified the remaining three suspects in last weekend’s attacks on Social Democratic MEP Matthias Ecke (SPD) and a Greens campaign worker. They are young men of 17 and 18 years old. The fourth suspect, a 17-year-old boy, reported to the police on Sunday night. He has confessed that he is one of the perpetrators.
The police believe they have found evidence during searches of homes. The suspects are charged with serious assault. According to German media, they can await the trial at home. Nothing is said about the motive behind the attacks, the investigation is still ongoing.
The media and politicians take into account that the perpetrators come from right-wing radical groups. The victims of the attacks were campaigning for the European and municipal elections next month. Chancellor Scholz (SPD) called for “joint action against the right”.
Last night, thousands of people demonstrated in Dresden and Berlin for democracy and against violence. President Steinmeier called for political differences to be resolved peacefully and with respect for each other. The Minister of the Interior of the state of Brandenburg wants to discuss the possible consequences with his colleagues from other states on Tuesday.
Badly injured
Ecke was attacked by four darkly dressed men on Friday evening while he was pasting election posters in Dresden. He is in hospital with a broken cheekbone, a fracture in an eye socket and bruising to the face.
He had surgery yesterday and is doing well. According to SPD party secretary Kühnert, healing takes time, but Ecke will not be intimidated. He is said to be determined to participate in the elections.
Minutes before Ecke was attacked, the same group had attacked the Greens campaign worker nearby. He was punched and kicked, but as far as we know he did not have to go to hospital.
More attacks
Politicians have also been attacked elsewhere in Germany in the past week. On Saturday morning in Nordhorn, just across the border from Hengelo, a politician from the right-wing radical AfD was beaten. Two Green Party politicians were attacked in Essen, in the Ruhr area, on Thursday. In the state of Brandenburg, Bundestag Vice-President Göring-Eckhardt was unable to leave a meeting last week because she was threatened.
Shift
In 2019, CDU politician Walter Lübcke was murdered by a neo-Nazi. Before that year, mainly AfD supporters were victims of an attack. Now these are mainly people from the Greens. They therefore demand more protection during campaign time.
Last year, the German government counted 2,790 attacks on politicians. Greens were targeted in 1,219 cases, AfD members 478 times and SPD members 420 times.
PvdA MEP Chahim responded in Nieuwsuur to the attack on MEP Ecke:
Demonstrations in Germany after violent attack by the far right
