After the serious attack on the SPD politician Ecke in Dresden, a young person turned himself in to the police. According to the LKA, the 17-year-old confessed to the attack on Friday evening. Corner has since had surgery.
After the attack on the Saxon SPD’s top candidate for the European elections, Matthias Ecke, a suspect turned himself in to the police. According to information from the State Criminal Police Office (LKA) in Saxony, it is a 17-year-old who confessed to attacking the politician.
The teenager reported to a police station in Dresden around 1 a.m. last night. According to a spokeswoman for the LKA, he told the police that he was the perpetrator who knocked down the SPD politician. This statement is now being checked as part of the investigation. The 17-year-old had not appeared to the police in the past. The young person is not in custody because it cannot be assumed that he will go into hiding.
Corner has since had surgery
Ecke was attacked by four people late on Friday evening while he was putting up election posters for the SPD in Dresden. As the regional association announced, the 41-year-old is doing well given the circumstances. Ecke was operated on this Sunday, said Saxon SPD leader Henning Homann at the state headquarters in Dresden. Ecke suffered a fracture of the cheekbone and eye socket as well as hematomas on his face.
According to the state association, Ecke will probably continue his election campaign after his recovery. The SPD thanked for the noticeable solidarity after the attack. “We strengthen and support each other. It is noticeable that the democratic spectrum is moving closer together,” it said. The party received many offers of help, and Ecke personally received countless messages.
LKA is looking for three more suspects
The LKA said the search is still ongoing for the three other suspects. According to police reports, all suspects are young men between the ages of 17 and 20. Saxony’s Interior Minister Armin Schuster called on all perpetrators to turn themselves in. “We will continue the investigation meticulously and keep the pressure high,” emphasized the CDU politician. We will not tolerate such a “brutal attack on election workers and politicians, but also on the foundations of our democracy and the conduct of free elections.”
According to the SPD Saxony, there were also attempts at intimidation, destruction of posters and insults among other party poster teams.
Faeser announces special conference
The incident sparked outrage across party lines. Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized that something like this threatens democracy “and that’s why shrugging your shoulders and accepting it is never an option.” Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier also strongly condemned the attack.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced a special conference of federal and state interior ministers to discuss measures for better protection of democracy and politicians. SPD party leader Lars Klingbeil also weighed in in the interview tagesschau.de for an “unambiguous response from the constitutional state”. “The interior ministers now also have a duty to make it clear very quickly what can be done to protect Democrats in election campaigns,” said Klingbeil.