Right-Wing Extremism Remains Top Security Threat For Germany - Interior Minister

BERLIN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th July, 2020) Right-wing extremism still poses the biggest security threat for Germany, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said on Thursday, presenting the 2019 Report on the Protection of the Constitution.

"This area [right-wing extremism] remains the most serious security threat in Germany. Nothing has changed here; on the contrary, the number of offenses, the number of adherents of right-wing extremism and the number of right-wing extremists ready for violence has increased," Seehofer said.

The minister noted that the government is taking active measures in this regard. In particular, last year, it adopted a strategy to counter right-wing extremism.

The threat of Islamist terrorism in the country also remains "very high."

"Here I cannot say that the threat is over. The threat of terrorism remains very high in Germany," Seehofer warned.

The minister recalled that the country banned the activities of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement in April, noting that Germany cannot accept that there would be "organizations on its soil that question the existence of Israel.

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Counter-intelligence chief Thomas Haldenwang, whose agency BfV authored the 2019 report, in turn, pointed to the threat of left extremism.

"The number of offenses motivated by left-wing extremism increased by almost 40 percent in 2019. This is quite remarkable, given that there were no relevant events like G7 or G20 [summits] in 2019. Last year, there were no events that could provoke the left-wing scene, and yet we have a 40 percent increase," Haldenwang said.

The material damage from left-wing extremist activities has amounted to over 100 million Euros ($113 million). According to the intelligence chief, just like in the far-right camp, there are radicals ready for violence among left-wingers. As an example, the official referred to attacks of left-wing extremists on the police and passers-by in Leipzig on the 2020 New Year's eve.

In total, German security services consider 33,500 people to be left-wing extremists. Some 9,200 of them are believed to be ready to use violent methods.