Thuringia
Journalist attacked on the sidelines of AfD events
The Thuringian AfD is classified and monitored by the state Office for the Protection of the Constitution as definitely right-wing extremist. photo
© Daniel Karmann/dpa
A reporter is apparently first insulted and then beaten on the sidelines of an AfD event. Later he finds screws in his tires. It is not the first time that the journalist has been attacked.
An attack on a journalist on the sidelines AfD event in Thuringia sparked outrage. The Thuringian Left co-chair Ulrike Grosse-Röthig spoke of an “attack on our democracy and the constitutional right to freedom of the press.”
The state press conference – an association of political journalists – wrote on X: “Freedom of the press is not negotiable. Anyone who sees it differently is endangering democracy.”
Insults, hits and screwing in car tires
The “Ostthüringer Zeitung” reported on Friday that its reporter was first insulted and then beaten as he left the event hall on Thursday evening on the sidelines of an AfD event in Plothen. In addition, his headgear was removed. When he wanted to drive off in the car, he discovered four sunk screws in his tires.
Christoph Rüth, managing director of the Funke media group, condemned the attack: “Our reporters are being actively prevented from doing their work. We will not allow ourselves to be intimidated and certainly not threatened!”
The police confirmed a complaint about the damage to the car. There was initially no report of a physical attack on the journalist.
Thuringia’s AfD state spokesman Stefan Möller told the German Press Agency that a politically critical stance towards a press or broadcasting institution cannot automatically be interpreted as a call for violence. But the AfD is trying to do that. The Thuringian AfD is classified and monitored by the state Office for the Protection of the Constitution as definitely right-wing extremist.
According to the Funke media group, the journalist in question had already been attacked once – by the then mayor of Bad Lobenstein at a market festival. The mayor was then suspended. The case made headlines across the country. According to his own words, the mayor felt provoked by the journalist, but denied an attack.