A teenager has surrendered for the assault of a German member of the European Parliament who was seriously injured in a “far-right attack” while putting up posters in Dresden.
Matthias Ecke, 41, was assaulted on Friday night and required surgery after being attacked by a group of four young men, his Social Democratic Party (SDP) revealed on Saturday.
A 17-year-old turned himself in to police in Germany and claimed to be “the perpetrator who had taken down the SPD politician,” police said in a statement on Sunday morning.
“He admitted to the act, but did not go further,” said police spokeswoman Silvaine Reiche.
According to the Saxony State Criminal Police Office (LKA), the search for the three remaining suspects is still ongoing, they are believed to be young men between 17 and 20 years old.
Matthias Ecke, 41, was attacked on Friday night and required surgery after being ambushed by a group of four young men, in what is believed to have been a “far-right attack”.
Ecke, a European Parliament lawmaker from Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SDP, was attacked by four assailants while posting EU election posters in the Striesen district, according to police.
Scholz on Saturday condemned the attack as a threat to democracy, saying: “We must never accept such acts of violence.”
The lawmaker is currently the leading candidate in Saxony for the European Parliament elections in June.
“The attack on Matthias Ecke is an unequivocal alarm signal for everyone in this country,” Henning Homann and Kathrin Michel, presidents of the SPD’s Saxony section, said in the statement.
“Our democratic values are under attack.”
The statement also claimed that there were other attempts at intimidation and destruction of posters, as German police continue their investigations into the attack.
The SDP blamed supporters of the far-right Alliance for Germany (AfD) party for the attack on Ecke.
“His supporters are now completely uninhibited and apparently see us Democrats as easy prey,” the statement said.
Following the shocking incident, anti-far-right protests broke out across Berlin, as the group is believed to have also attacked a member of the Green Party who was also seen campaigning minutes before attacking Ecke, reports D.W..
Participants gather for a demonstration against the far right and to condemn attacks on politicians, at Pariser Platz square in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, on May 5, 2024.
A 17-year-old turned himself in to police in Germany early on May 5, 2024, following an attack on a lawmaker in Dresden, which the country’s leaders denounced as a threat to democracy.
A participant shows a poster “Dresden thugs – willing accomplices of (AfD politician Bjoern) Hoecke” during a demonstration against the far right and to condemn attacks on politicians
Police revealed that a 28-year-old man putting up Greens posters had been “beaten” and “kicked” on the same Dresden street.
The groups Zusammen gegen Rechts (Together against the right) and Wir sind die Brandmauer Dresden (We are the firebreak of Dresden) called for protests on Sunday in Berlin and Dresden.
According to initial police reports, more than 1,000 people attended the demonstration at the Brandenburg Gate in solidarity with the injured SDP politician.
Also participating in the protest were the presidents of the Green Party, Ricarda Lang and Omid Nouripour, the leader of the SPD, Lars Klingbeil, the general secretary of the SPD, Kevin Kühnert, as well as the prime ministers of Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, Michael Kretschmer. and Hendrik Wüst, according to local information. fixed.
Last week, two Green MPs were verbally abused while campaigning in Essen, western Germany, and another was ambushed by several protesters in her car while in the east of the country.
The German Cities Association has now called for tougher sanctions for attacks on politicians.
“We have to better protect politically active people,” city council president Markus Lewe told the Düsseldorf Rheinische Post.
Lewe demanded that attacks against politicians must be “consistently pursued and punished” by the police and judiciary.
According to the Tagesspiegel newspaper, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser plans to call a special conference next week with Germany’s regional interior ministers to address violence against politicians.