After the attack on SPD MEP Matthias Ecke in Dresden, three more suspects have been identified. The apartments of the accused, aged 17 and 18, were searched on Sunday, the State Criminal Police Office (LKA) announced in Dresden on Monday. On Sunday night, a 17-year-old had already turned himself in to the police and confessed to the attack on the SPD politician.
According to the LKA, one of the perpetrators can be assigned to the right-wing spectrum. It is assumed that he falls into the “politically motivated right-wing category,” said a spokeswoman. Previously had Time online reported.
The SPD politician Ecke was brutally beaten on Friday evening in Dresden while hanging up election posters. The 41-year-old was taken to hospital with a fracture of his cheekbone and eye socket as well as bruises and cuts on his face. Ecke was operated on on Sunday and is doing well under the circumstances, said Saxony’s SPD leader Henning Homann. The two Green Party politicians Kai Gehring and Rolf Fliß were attacked in Essen on Thursday.
Ecke posted a photo of himself on X on Monday. He thanked people for their solidarity. “This isn’t just about me, but about everyone who is passionate about politics. Nobody should have to fear expressing their opinion in a democracy!”
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The police believed there were four suspects in the case. On Sunday night, the 17-year-old turned himself in to the police and confessed to the attack on the SPD politician. The suspect has not yet revealed a motive for the crime, the police wrote on Platform X on Sunday evening. The three other suspects have now been identified. According to witnesses, they were dressed in dark clothing, a police spokesman said. A witness assigned her to the right-wing spectrum.
Police know two of the suspects for previous crimes
Two of the suspects are already known to the police – one for “narcotics crime”, according to a spokeswoman for the LKA South German newspaper said one for grievous bodily harm.
According to the LKA spokeswoman, the three other suspects were identified after evaluating evidence that had previously been found on the 17-year-old. The officers seized cell phones from the three young men, among other things, as well as the clothing they were said to have been wearing at the time of the crime. The forensic investigation of the seized items is still ongoing, said the spokeswoman. The police want to check whether there are traces of Ecke’s DNA. According to the LKA, investigators have not yet found any evidence of weapons during the searches.
Demonstrations against violence during the election campaign
In Dresden and Berlin, numerous people demonstrated for democracy and against violence in the election campaign on Sunday evening, including well-known politicians. Around 3,000 people came together in Saxony’s state capital, and in Berlin in front of the Brandenburg Gate there were just as many people, according to the “Together Against the Right” alliance, which organized the demos.
Politicians from almost all major parties have also jointly opposed violence in political debates. By Sunday afternoon, more than 100 members of various parliaments signed the so-called Striesen Declaration, which is directed against “the ever-escalating violence against politically active people in public spaces.” The attacks in Dresden took place in the middle-class district of Striesen.
At the same time, the discussion about possible consequences of the escalation of violence is coming into focus. The federal and state governments want to discuss the issue on Tuesday. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) is calling for better protection for politicians and helpers during election campaigns.