As of: 09/25/2021 4:34 p.m.
After the fatal shot at a cashier in Idar-Oberstein, several mayors are now warning of increasing radicalization in society. There is also criticism of the work of the judiciary.
After the fatal shot at a cashier in Idar-Oberstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, several mayors warned of increasing radicalization in society. “We are experiencing brutalization that we have never known before,” said Leipzig’s Mayor Burkhard Jung from the SPD to the Berlin “Tagesspiegel”. This began in 2015 with the refugee debate and continued in the pandemic – from Reich citizens to corona deniers.
“The radicalization in society hits us particularly hard on the ground,” said Jung, who is also president of the German Association of Cities. He also criticized the judiciary’s handling of such acts: “The public prosecutor’s offices are often too cozy for me,” said Jung. “It is just not freedom of expression if Article 1 of our Basic Law is violated, that is, human dignity.”
Proceedings are often dropped
The Lord Mayor of Frankfurt an der Oder, René Wilke from the Left Party, told the newspaper that he was seriously concerned about the company’s ability to respectfully conduct the necessary discussions in the next few years. The Mayor of Bonn, Katja Dörner, demanded that the Greens clearly state that Idar-Oberstein’s act was “in a certain sense a politically motivated murder, carried out by a perpetrator with a right-wing, conspiracy-theoretical background and network”.
Local politicians see themselves inadequately protected from insults and threats: “When the going gets tough, I feel at their mercy because there is absolutely no way to defend yourself,” said Augsburg Mayor Eva Weber (CSU) If she filed a complaint, the proceedings would often be dropped.
Tat in Idar-Oberstein caused horror
In Idar-Oberstein, a 20-year-old gas station employee was allegedly killed by a mask refuser with a revolver last weekend. The 49-year-old suspect wanted to buy beer without the mouth and nose protection required in the pandemic. According to the police, there was “a brief discussion” between him and the later victim. After that, the 49-year-old reportedly left the gas station, but came back about an hour and a half later and shot the student. In his interrogation, according to the police, he stated that he rejected the anti-corona measures. The act caused horror nationwide.