Far-right crimes reach record high in Germany

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN

Far-right crimes in Germany reached a new record high of 23,555 cases in 2016, according to the interior minister on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference in Berlin, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the increasing scale of violence was a worrisome development.

“Violent offences has increased significantly, this should be real concern to us all. We are particularly witnessing an increase in grievous bodily harm,” De Maiziere said.

Among the 23,555 far-right offences recorded by police last year, 1,698 of them were violent attacks.

These included six cases of attempted homicide, 78 serious offences involving bodily injury, 74 cases of arson attacks and five offences involving explosives.

Far-right offences in Germany spiked last year to their highest level since 2001, amid growing anti-refugee sentiment in the country triggered by propaganda from far-right parties.

De Maiziere warned the tendency towards more violence was also seen among radical left and foreign groups.

The Interior Ministry’s report also revealed a sharp increase last year in offences committed by the PKK terrorist group in Germany, which is outlawed in the country since 1993.

In 2016, crimes committed by PKK followers in Germany increased by 97.6 percent and reached 1,597 cases, according to the report.

Many of the incidents involved PKK followers violating demonstration and assembly laws, the report said.

Turkey has long criticised Germany for not taking serious measures against the PKK terror group, which is carrying out propaganda, recruitment and fundraising activities from the country.

The PKK has more than 14,000 followers in Germany, and raised more than €13 million ($14.3 million) in 2015, according to reports by the German domestic intelligence agency, the BfV.

The terrorist group -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- resumed its armed campaign against Turkey in July 2015 and since then has been responsible for the deaths of approximately 1,200 security personnel and civilians, including women and children.