German AfD politician stabbed in second attack within days

BERLIN: A local candidate for Germany’s right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has been injured in a knife attack, the party and police said on Wednesday, the second such incident in the city of Mannheim days after a police officer was killed.

AfD member Heinrich Koch was attacked with a cutter knife after confronting the suspect who was tearing down election posters near a town square, the party said. Police said the 25-year-old suspect was detained and, showing clear signs of mental illness, was taken to a psychiatric hospital.

It comes days after the attack at an anti-Islam demonstration in which a policeman was killed, at a time when the number of assaults and abuse against politicians across the spectrum has surged ahead of hotly contested elections.

Koch needed stitches in his head and had a cut in his stomach, but the injuries were not life-threatening, the party said. AfD co-chief Alice Weidel told Reuters the attack was a “shocking act that leaves you stunned”.

The party has sought to portray the attack as part of a targeted campaign by left-wing extremists against AfD members. However, police said there was no concrete evidence that the suspect knew that he was attacking an AfD politician.