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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| European election: Teen admits to attacking Matthias Ecke | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Matthias Ecke was attacked by four people as he hung election posters | Matthias Ecke was attacked by four people as he hung election posters |
| A 17-year-old has turned himself in to police in Germany following an attack on a European Parliament member, police have said. | |
| The teenager said he knocked down Matthias Ecke, the Social Democratic Party's (SPD) top candidate in Saxony, as he hung posters in Dresden. | |
| Police said Mr Ecke, 41, was seriously injured and required an operation. | |
| Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the attack, calling it a "threat" to democracy. | |
| Officers said four attackers hit and kicked Mr Ecke in the Striesen district of Dresden. | |
| According to Der Spiegel, the teen reported himself at a police station in Dresden in the early hours of Sunday accompanied by a parent. | |
| The outlet said officers were looking for three more suspects aged 17 to 20. | |
| Mr Ecke was campaigning for June's European Parliament election at the time of the attack on Friday. | |
| Shortly before the incident, the same group appear to have attacked a 28-year-old Greens campaigner on the same street, police said. | Shortly before the incident, the same group appear to have attacked a 28-year-old Greens campaigner on the same street, police said. |
| The assaults have been condemned by a number of politicians, with Mr Scholz saying on Saturday that: "Democracy is threatened by this kind of act." | |
| Speaking to a congress of European socialist parties in Berlin, he said: "We must never accept such acts of violence... we must oppose it together." | |
| Interior Minister Nancy Faeser warned "extremists and populists are stirring up a climate of increasing violence". | Interior Minister Nancy Faeser warned "extremists and populists are stirring up a climate of increasing violence". |
| The SPD blamed supporters of the far-right party Alternative for Germany party (AfD) for the attack. | The SPD blamed supporters of the far-right party Alternative for Germany party (AfD) for the attack. |
| "Their supporters are now completely disinhibited and apparently see us democrats as fair game," Henning Homann and Kathrin Michel, who chair the SPD's Saxony branch, said in the statement. | "Their supporters are now completely disinhibited and apparently see us democrats as fair game," Henning Homann and Kathrin Michel, who chair the SPD's Saxony branch, said in the statement. |
| "The attack on Matthias Ecke is an unmistakable alarm signal to all people in this country." | "The attack on Matthias Ecke is an unmistakable alarm signal to all people in this country." |
| "Our democratic values are under attack." | "Our democratic values are under attack." |
| European Parliament President Roberta Metsola expressed her solidarity with Mr Ecke, saying she was "horrified" by the "vicious attack". | European Parliament President Roberta Metsola expressed her solidarity with Mr Ecke, saying she was "horrified" by the "vicious attack". |
| On Thursday two Greens deputies were harassed while campaigning in Essen in western Germany and one was hit in the face, police said. | On Thursday two Greens deputies were harassed while campaigning in Essen in western Germany and one was hit in the face, police said. |
| Why European elections matter and how they work | Why European elections matter and how they work |
| Related Topics | Related Topics |
| Germany | Germany |
| Olaf Scholz | Olaf Scholz |