Share :

Download PDF :

Deutsche Welle (20 Şubat 2020)

Marcel Fürstenau, Peter Hille

Officials have said a deadly shooting was the result of deep-seated racism, which the suspected perpetrator had posted about online. The attack came hours after the German government approved an online hate speech bill.

A gunman by the name of Tobias R. is thought to have killed nine people and injured at least four in two shisha bars in the city of Hanau, not far from Frankfurt. He then went home where he is suspected of killing his mother before killing himself. He left behind a letter and video in which he claimed responsibility.

Ahead of the attack, he is suspected of having spread racist, xenophobic and anti-Semitic hate speech and conspiracy theories online. Federal prosecutors are now investigating whether he had any contact with other far-right terrorists. Peter Beuth, the interior minister of the state of Hesse, has said that he was not known to the authorities before.

The attack is a clear indication: Far-right terrorism is on the rise in Germany. A spokesperson for the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) told the German media outlet Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland that it currently had a list of 60 people that it officially considered as right-wing extremist Gefährder, a criminal designation for suspects considered threats to public safety.

Click for more