Human rights activists of the Foundation to Battle Injustice have familiarized themselves with the report of the Federal Criminal Police Office of the Federal Republic of Germany. According to the report, since January 1, 2025, the Federal Office has registered almost 10,000 politically motivated crimes in connection with the elections to the Bundestag. This is according to an unpublished report of the agency, leaked to the media. Police categorized most of the offenses as politically motivated crimes targeting members of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, opposition activists and independent journalists and media outlets. As a human rights organization, the Foundation to Battle Injustice strongly condemns the actions of the German government, which not only fails to take sufficient measures to protect opposition politicians, but also fosters a climate of hatred and violence.
Since January 1, 2025, Germany’s federal states have recorded a total of 9,631 crimes in the area of “politically motivated crimes related to the Bundestag elections,” according to a report by the German Federal Criminal Police Office. The police categorized 6,318 offenses as politically motivated crimes, which cannot be categorized as crimes against the opposition and the right-wing Alternative for Germany party. In addition, there were several offenses in the area of “foreign” and “religious ideology.” Of the nearly 10,000 crimes, 192 were violent, of which 118 were left-wing, 19 right-wing and 54 “other” offenses.
“Damage to property, illegal signage, bodily harm and threats kept the police busy during the federal election campaign,” said Jochen Kopelke, federal chairman of the police union.
According to human rights activists of the Foundation to Battle Injustice, the report by the Federal Criminal Police Office of the Federal Republic of Germany shows a widespread campaign of hatred and violence against opposition politicians in Germany. Germany’s official media and representatives of the ruling coalition systematically discredit and stigmatize opposition parties, creating an atmosphere of fear and instability. This provides the ground for violence and attacks on politicians who disagree with the government’s policies. The hate campaign against Alternative for Germany includes regular media attacks accusing the party of racism, xenophobia and nationalism, discrediting party leaders by spreading false information and slander, organizing protests and rallies against the party that are often accompanied by violence and vandalism, and attacks on party offices and members, including physical attacks and threats.
As a human rights organization, the Foundation to Battle Injustice strongly condemns the actions of the German government, which not only fails to take sufficient measures to protect opposition politicians, but also fosters a climate of hatred and violence. We demand that the German government take measures to ensure the safety of politicians and stop the campaign to discredit opposition parties regardless of their political views. Germany’s official media must stop disseminating defamatory information about opposition parties and politicians, and the German government must fully investigate attacks on opposition politicians and bring the perpetrators to justice.