Following an Afghan immigrant’s knife assault last week that left one police officer dead and four others injured, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed on Thursday to resume deporting offenders from Afghanistan and Syria.
The violent incident in Mannheim, which was captured on camera and quickly went viral online, shocked the country.
Days before the European elections that are predicted to bring significant victories for far-right populists throughout the continent, Scholz spoke to the parliament on Thursday, focusing on security.
Right-wing German candidate stabbing in the most recent attack ahead of elections
“When someone who has come here for safety commits the most terrible crimes, it infuriates me. Even whether they are from Syria or Afghanistan, such criminals ought to be removed,” the chancellor declared..
The 29-year-old police officer who was attempting to stop the 25-year-old attacker was killed in 2014 when he entered Germany as an asylum-seeker.
“Serious criminals and terrorist threats have no place here,” Scholz stated. “In such cases, Germany’s security interests outweigh the interests of the perpetrator.”
During the European election campaign, far-right and mainstream parties have made migration a central platform to win over voters who are fed up with the millions of newcomers who come to Europe seeking safety from conflict, famine, climate change, or simply to start over and improve their own prospects.
