‘Blood! Death to you!’ German lawmakers get death threats as country sees far-right surge

People hold flags in Erfurt, central Germany, Wednesday, March 16, 2016, during a
demonstration initiated by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party against migrants.

Fears of a resurgent far-right in Germany grew Sunday after a group calling itself the armed wing of the country’s new anti-migrant party sent death threats to MEPs.

Several former members of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party received threatening letters from a group calling itself the “AfD Army Faction”.

The messages were sent to former AfD MEPs who left the party in protest at its anti-immigrant stance, demanding they give up their seats.

While it was unclear last night whether those behind the letters had any links to the AfD party leadership, German police are taking the threats seriously and have opened an investigation.


The AfD stormed to its best results in regional elections last week on a platform of opposition to Angela Merkel’s “open-door” refugee policy.

But it has drifted dramatically to the right in response to the migrant crisis, and its original leader was ousted in a coup last year.

Frauke Petry, its new leader, has called for police to be given the power to shoot asylum seekers at the border.  (more...)

‘Blood! Death to you!’ German lawmakers get death threats as country sees far-right surge

Bjoern Hoecke, chairman of the Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD) in the
German state of Thuringia, leads the rally in Erfurt, central Germany

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