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Tuesday 29 Dec 2015 - 12:53 Makkah mean time-18-3-1437
Berlin, (IINA) - Human rights activists have criticized German authorities for ignoring the growing threat of violence from far-right extremists in the country, Anadolu Agency.
Despite a more than 40 percent increase in Islamophobic crimes in Germany in a year, the struggle against right-wing extremism is still not the primary priority of the police, Timo Reinfrank, coordinator of the human rights organization Amadeu Antonio Foundation, told Anadolu Agency.
Right-wing extremists in Germany committed some 3,155 Islamophobic hate crimes in the first nine months of 2015, showing a dramatic increase in a year. German police recorded 2,207 such crimes in 2014.
Up to November this year, police arrested 151 suspects, and nine detention orders were issued, according to the official statistics released this month. Reinfrank said that the lack of efficient and consequent investigation on far-right crimes was further encouraging right-wing extremists to protest violently.
“Today we are facing the danger of the emergence of new far-right terror structures like the National Socialist Underground”, he warned.
Reinfrank urged authorities to take measures to address the growing threat posed by far-right extremists, stressing that it should become their priority.
“There should be new units at the police specialized in investigating far-right crimes. We also need specialized prosecutors. By recruiting more personnel, by effective investigation and prosecution we can weaken the far-right groups”, he said.
Katharina Konig, a Left Party lawmaker known for her staunch stance against the far-right, has also criticized federal authorities for not taking necessary steps against the growing threat of violence from far-right extremists. “More than 800 attacks against asylum accommodations this year is a terror, this is far-right terror. Federal police and federal prosecutors should have stepped in”, Konig told Anadolu Agency.
“This can be a reflection of lack of political will. Maybe, they don’t want to acknowledge that we have a problem with racism, with the far-right”, she added.
Konig warned that lack of clear stance against far-right might lead to deadly attacks in coming weeks. “I am gravely worried about recent developments, I fear that soon we may face deadly attacks,” she said. The lawmaker urged for a more active stance against far-right, both by authorities and the civil society, stressing that lack of public protests against xenophobic attacks would further encourage right-wing extremists.
Germany is facing growing violence against refugees and migrants in recent months, as far-right and populist parties exploit the growing refugee influx to the country, and carry out widespread Islamophobic propaganda in weekly rallies across the country.
Germany has received a record 1 million refugees this year, mostly from Syria and Iraq.
AG/IINA
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