Teenager surrenders to police after attack on German politician

CNN
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A 17-year-old boy handed himself in to police after admitting he attacked a German politician on Friday.

Police say Matthias Ecke, candidate for the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in the upcoming European elections, was attacked while putting up campaign posters.

According to the Saxony Police, the minor went to a police station in the early hours of Sunday and confessed to having attacked the SPD politician in the city of Dresden, in eastern Germany.

Three other people are also suspected of carrying out the attack alongside the minor, police said, although their whereabouts are unknown.

A second activist – from the Green Party – was also attacked by the group of four, police said earlier in X.

The SPD branch in Saxony blamed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party for the violence. The AfD has been steadily gaining support across the country, especially in eastern states such as Saxony.

“Yesterday our main candidate for the European elections, Matthias Ecke, was attacked while installing posters and was seriously injured. Violence and intimidation of Democrats are the means of fascists. The seeds planted by the AfD and other right-wing extremists are sprouting,” said the SPD Saxony on X Saturday.

Jörg Urban, leader of the AfD party in Saxony, referred to the attack in a post on X, writing that “attacks on politicians are always attacks on democracy”.

While Urban said he condemns such attacks, he also suggested that “the SPD must ask itself to what extent its constant agitation against political dissidents contributes to such escalations.”

Olaf Scholz, the Chancellor of Germany, also posted about the attack on social media, writing in X: “Attacks like that of MEP Matthias Ecke and other candidates threaten our democracy. We must unite against them.”

“I wish Matthias Ecke a speedy recovery,” said Scholz.

Ecke, 41, had to undergo emergency facial surgery, according to CNN affiliate NTV.