Germany records the highest level of right-wing extremist crime in 20 years

The number of right-wing extremist crimes committed in Germany increased sharply in 2020 to a two-decade high, the interior ministry said on Tuesday.

Such crimes “accounted for 23,064 criminal offenses [in 2020]. That is more than half … of all politically motivated crimes,” Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said while presenting the latest crime statistics at a press conference in Berlin.

“That is the highest level since records began in 2001,” Seehofer added, noting a “particularly serious” increase of 18.8 percent in violent hate crimes — including 11 murders and 13 attempted murders — to a total of 3,365 offenses.

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