At a special meeting, the German interior ministers spoke out in favor of tightening criminal law in order to better protect politicians from attacks. Federal Interior Minister Faeser called for daily topics “a very clear stop signal.”
In response to the violent attack on the SPD MEP Matthias Ecke in Dresden, the federal and state interior ministers want to review tightening criminal law. This is the result of a virtual special meeting of the Conference of Interior Ministers (IMK), as the chairman of the Conference of Interior Ministers, Brandenburg’s Interior Minister Michael Stübgen, announced.
The existing criminal law “no longer adequately reflects the threat to officials and elected officials, but also to volunteers,” said the CDU politician. This primarily concerns the criminal offenses of bodily harm and coercion.
According to Stübgen, this knowledge should now be reflected in concrete legislative initiatives to expand the criminal code. The aggressive influence on officials and elected officials must be dealt with and punished more strictly under criminal law because of its particular impact on democracy.
Support for suggestions from Bavaria and Saxony
The interior ministers supported a Bavarian Federal Council initiative from last year, which envisages higher sentencing to better protect people who work on a voluntary basis. They also promoted a Federal Council initiative from Saxony, which the cabinet had only decided on Tuesday.
Essentially, this is a new criminal offense that is intended to punish the influence of officials and elected officials through political stalking. This is intended to protect decision-makers, especially at the local level, from threatening attacks on their private lives.
Faeser insists on faster ones Judicial process
After the conference, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser spoke of an “extremely brutal act of violence” against Ecke. The number of attacks on elected officials has already increased by 53 percent in 2023 compared to 2022. “We are witnessing an escalation of anti-democratic violence here,” she explained.
In an interview with the daily topics She then made it clear that “a very clear stop signal for violent criminals” was necessary. In this context, she announced that the punishment would be tightened. “I will now advocate for this with Federal Justice Minister Buschmann,” explained Faeser. There is also a resolution to which the interior ministers refer, which is available to the German Bundestag. “The Federal Council clearly decided that something should be done about sentencing.”
Nevertheless, in the interview the minister dampened expectations that this would completely solve the problem. Further measures are also needed. “We made it clear today that the delinquents must quickly realize that they have done something wrong,” she said. In this context, the SPD politician called for faster judicial procedures. Of course, it is always the case that “the constitutional state should act with full force.” In Faeser’s opinion, there is still “room for improvement” when it comes to the punishment range.
Investigations against four suspected perpetrators
The 41-year-old SPD politician Ecke was attacked by several people while posting posters in Dresden on Friday evening and was so seriously injured that he had to be operated on. On Monday he spoke up via Platform X and thanked everyone for their participation.
Police and prosecutors accuse four young Germans aged 17 and 18 of carrying out the attack. The background remains unclear. However, a 17-year-old is said to have connections to the right-wing extremist milieu.
“This endangers our democracy”
The interior ministers condemned the attacks on Ecke and other elected officials. “The renewed attacks represent a social development in which people are trying to achieve political goals not just with words, but with violence, hatred and incitement,” said Stübgen.
“This endangers our democracy, our free constitutional state as a whole.” It can make people afraid to express their opinions and advocate. “The police cannot alone prevent the brutalization of political discourse.” What is needed is a broad social discussion that goes far beyond the responsibility of the interior minister.
“Society as a whole Ask”
Faeser also does not believe that “police presence alone” can protect officials and elected officials from attacks. It is a question for society as a whole how to deal with the hardened and increasing violence and also with hatred and agitation, she said daily topics. “How can we create a better social climate so that it doesn’t happen again?” In this context, the Interior Minister also warned against further escalating political debates and no longer showing respect to the other person.