Tough clashes between protesters and police outside the Congress of the far-right German party Alternative fur Deutschland: two police officers were seriously injured. The congress is taking place today and tomorrow in a covered arena in Essen, Western Germany, with around 600 delegates who reconfirmed the leadership of Tino Chrupalla and Alice Weidel for two years. All protests organized by the party’s opponents outside the Congress approximately 100 thousand people participate.
The incident occurred in the afternoon near the Grugahalle, the Essen city hall where the AfD meeting is held, the North Rhine-Westphalia police said in a statement. “Unknown assailants kicked two police officers in the head and continued to beat them when they were on the ground.”
The two men, “seriously injured”, were taken to hospital. Seven other officers were slightly injured. The perpetrators of the attack managed to escape. Previously, 11 other policemen had been attacked in the morning by some hooded protesters. “Against right-wing extremism and racism we need strong democratic forces and peaceful protests,” wrote Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on X.
“Nothing justifies violence,” he concluded. In the last European elections the far-right party obtained around 16% of the votes, more than the SPD by Chancellor Olaf Scholz. To deal with today’s predictable protests in Essen, a thousand police have been mobilized. Most of the protesters marched peacefully with banners and placards.