German prosecutors on Monday issued an arrest warrant against four teenagers suspected of having physically beaten members of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who were campaigning in south-west Berlin last weekend.
The suspects, aged between 16 and 19, are accused of having verbally abused two SPD party members running a campaign stall at a bus stop in the capital's Lankwitz neighbourhood on Saturday before attacking them, according to the public prosecutor's office.
Both victims were reportedly pushed to the ground where the attackers continued to beat one of them, also kicking him with combat boots, which are often worn by members of Germany's neo-Nazi scene.
When police arrived at the scene, the suspects used a racial slur against one of the officers and injured him in the face using a shard of glass. Another officer sustained a broken hand in the altercation.
Prosecutors said they see the actions as being motivated by suspected far-right extremist views.
Three of the suspects have been taken into custody, while the fourth suspect has been released subject to certain conditions.
Germany is gearing up for early elections expected to be held in February following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's centre-left coalition government in November.
Scholz, from the SPD, is set to face a confidence vote in parliament on Monday afternoon, which is widely expected to pave the way for the February election.
Saturday's events have highlighted fears of a highly polarized and tense election campaign period.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is planning to campaign on an anti-EU, anti-immigration platform, currently places second in the polls, ahead of the governing SPD.
Ahead of the European elections in June, in which the party saw record gains, Germany saw a rise in attacks on campaign workers, particularly from the SPD and the Greens.
- Attack
- Social Democrats
- Berlin
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
