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GERMANY-POLITICS-CRIME-FAR-RIGHT
German far-right MP seriously injured in targeted attack
BERLIN, Jan 8, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A far-right German MP was seriously injured
in a “politically motivated” gang attack in the north of the country, police
said Tuesday.
Frank Magnitz, leader in Bremen of the anti-immigration populist party
Alternative for Germany (AfD), was assaulted in the city centre on Monday
afternoon.
“Given the victim’s work, we believe that this is a politically motivated
act,” police said.
The AfD party published a photo of Magnitz unconscious on a hospital bed,
his face bleeding and swollen with a gash on his forehead.
It said three people with their faces covered had carried out the attack.
“They hit him with a piece of wood until he was unconscious and then kicked
him on the ground,” a statement from the party said, adding that a
construction worker had intervened to stop the assault.
AfD leader Joerg Meuthen said Magnitz was “beaten almost to death”.
Last week, an explosive device detonated in a rubbish bin damaged an AfD
office in Saxony.
The AfD entered Germany’s parliament with almost 13 percent of the vote
last September.
BSS/AFP/GMR/1255 hrs