Germany’s AfD rallies in Magdeburg, a deadly attack on a Christmas market. migration news
A far-right party has held a ‘memorial’ rally for the victims of a car-hit attack, sparking a debate over migration and security policy.
Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has held a “memorial” rally for the victims of a car-hit attack at a Christmas market, sparking a debate over migration and security policy.
The rally was held on Monday outside a cathedral in the eastern city of Magdeburg, where last week’s attack took place that killed five people and injured more than 200 others.
“Terrorism has come to our city,” said Jan Wenzel Schmidt, leader of the AfD in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. He termed it a “catastrophic political failure” that led to the attack, for which a Saudi Arabian national was arrested.
“We have to close the borders,” he told hundreds of supporters of the anti-immigration party. “We can no longer take in lunatics from all over the world.”
Party co-leader Alice Weidel described the attack as “the act of an Islamist filled with hatred for human solidarity… for us Germans, for us Christians.”
She demanded “change so that we can finally live in safety again”, as people in the crowd chanted: “Deport, deport, deport!”
The suspect, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, faces multiple charges, including murder and attempted murder. According to reports, he has been living in Germany since 2006 and has previously made anti-immigrant and anti-Islam posts on social media.
Although the motives have not yet been made public, Abdulmohsen has expressed anger at German authorities over his anti-Islam views and immigration policies. He has also vocally supported far-right conspiracy theories about the “Islamization” of Europe.
Despite the suspect’s expressed views, which match the AfD’s anti-immigrant stance and Islamophobic rhetoric, Weidel referred to him at the rally as an “Islamist” – an attempt to reinforce the party’s anti-immigrant views.
Friday’s attack has sparked political debate over migration policies ahead of early elections in February, in which the AfD hopes to boost its position in parliament.
According to German newspaper Die Welt, Interior Minister Nancy Feser said “no stone will be left unturned” to uncover what information was available about the 50-year-old suspect, who had been treated for mental illness in the past.
Meanwhile, an anti-extremism initiative called “Don’t Give Hate a Chance” also gathered in Magdeburg. “We are all shocked and angry to see that people want to exploit this brutal act for their own political ends,” the initiative said in a statement.
