The number of attacks on media representatives reached a peak in the year of the corona pandemic in Saxony. In 2020, 29 criminal offenses against journalists were registered, ten of which were violent acts, according to a response published on Sunday by the Saxon Ministry of the Interior to a major question from the left in the state parliament. On average, that is more than one crime against journalists every two weeks. According to the information, attacks against media representatives have been recorded separately in the statistics since 2016. Since then, a total of 86 attacks on media representatives have been recorded.
The previous high was registered in 2018 with 23 crimes, and in 2019 it was 14. Almost half of the total of 86 crimes since 2016 – exactly 41 – were related to demonstrations, according to the Interior Ministry. Right-wing extremist motivation predominated among the perpetrators, it said. 45 percent of the cases were assigned to this spectrum. The left-wing extremist scene is charged with 28 percent of the crimes. The rest cannot be clearly assigned. Around every half of the crimes was reportedly cleared up.
As the statistics also show, however, the investigation proceedings are often discontinued, according to an evaluation by the Left in 57 percent of the cases. From a consistent punishment, Saxony is far from, explained the left-wing MP Kerstin Köditz. “The majority of the perpetrators are not threatened – and the effective protection of media workers is still inadequate,” she said. A debate on the subject is scheduled for Thursday in the state parliament in Dresden.