Far-right crime on the rise in Germany

Posted at: 04/29/2013 9:05 AM
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(AP) BERLIN - Germany says far-right crime rose last year, fueled by an increasing number of xenophobic and anti-Semitic acts.

Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich vowed Monday to increase police pressure on far-right groups "so that all people, regardless of their origin, can feel safe in Germany."

His ministry said the number of politically motivated crimes by the far-right overall rose by 4.4 percent from 16,873 in 2011 to 17,616 in 2012, of which 842 were violent crimes. Non-violent crimes include vandalism and spreading far-right propaganda.

The ministry says the number of hate crimes directed at foreigners increased by 16.5 percent to 2,922. The number of anti-Semitic crimes rose by 10.6 percent to 1,374.

Crimes committed by leftist groups dropped sharply by 29 percent from 1,809 to 1,291 in 2012.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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