Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza: The total number of Palestinians killed due to famine and malnutrition has risen to 313, including 119 children
Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip: 10 people, including two children, have died of starvation in the past 24 hours
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: US envoy Tom Barrack cancels his visit to Tyre and al-Khiam amid popular protests
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Lebanon: Israeli occupation forces carried out an explosion in the southern border town of Kfar Kila
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.

Attacks on refugees rise in Germany amid surge of far-right crimes

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 22 Apr 2025 14:18
3 Min Read

Berlin reports a sharp rise in attacks on refugees and shelters in 2024, amid a rise in far-right crimes.

Listen
  • x
  • Migrants walk from the main station in Dortmund, Germany, to a hall where they get first attendance Sunday, Sept. 6, 2015. Thousands of migrants and refugees arrived in Dortmund by trains. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
    Migrants walk from the main station in Dortmund, Germany, to a hall where they get their first attendance on September 6, 2015. Thousands of migrants and refugees arrived in Dortmund by train. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Berlin reported on Monday a significant increase in attacks on refugees in Germany, with both asylum seekers and refugee shelters targeted amid a broader rise in far-right crime and the tightening of German migration policy.

Official figures, provided at the request of two Green Party lawmakers, reveal that in 2024, 77 assaults on asylum seekers and refugees took place in Berlin, along with eight cases of deliberate damage to refugee residences.

This marks a steep rise from 2023, when there were 32 assaults on individuals and no reported attacks on shelters, according to lawmaker Ario Ebrahimpour Mirzaie.

As a result of the assaults, 34 people required hospital treatment, including 16 women, 14 men, two girls, and two individuals whose ages were not specified. Authorities identified 37 suspects in these direct assaults, 11 of whom were already known to police. No solid leads have been found regarding the attacks on refugee shelters.

Far-right crime in Berlin linked to anti-migrant sentiment

Green Party Deputy Jian Omar described the report as an "alarm bell," calling for urgent measures to protect refugees.

“We demand a clear protection plan for refugees, a visible police presence at endangered residences, comprehensive prevention work, and above all, policies that clearly recognise rightwing violence and decisively fight it,” he stated.

Related News

Rukban Syrian displacement camp near Jordan border shut down

Germany defies court ruling, to continue rejecting asylum seekers

According to reports, Berlin hosts approximately 35,000 registered refugees in official reception centers and dormitories, with another 10,000 in emergency shelters, including at former airports Tegel and Tempelhof, where living conditions have been criticized as overcrowded and substandard.

Despite security measures, violence persists. In March, seven rightwing extremists attempted to forcibly enter a refugee shelter in Stahnsdorf, southwest of Berlin. They assaulted a security guard, leaving him unconscious, while chanting far-right slogans, according to witnesses.

Clara Bünger, a federal lawmaker from the Linke party, stressed the urgency of government action. “The number of insults, threats, and attacks against refugees has been worryingly high for years. It is outrageous that these conditions are accepted with a shrug by many politicians and members of the public,” she said.

Germany’s migration policy hardens as rightwing extremism rises

The Interior Ministry reported 218 politically motivated assaults on refugee shelters in 2024, up from 167 in 2023. However, crimes against individual asylum seekers dropped to 1,905, down from 2,488 in 2023.

Federal statistics show a 17% rise in rightwing extremist crimes in 2024, with 33,963 offenses reported by the end of November, including 1,136 violent attacks. Official annual figures are expected next month.

The anti-immigration Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party gained over 20% of the vote in February’s snap election, becoming the largest opposition force in parliament. This rise has been linked to public concerns over immigration and recent violent incidents involving asylum seekers.

Conservative leader Friedrich Merz, set to be sworn in as chancellor on May 6, campaigned on stricter border policies and reducing irregular immigration.

Though a coalition agreement with the Social Democrats softened some of his proposals, it includes tougher measures such as suspending family reunifications for many refugees, increased border controls, and plans for deportations to countries previously excluded, like Syria and Afghanistan.

Read next: Germany follows US in deporting pro-Palestine protesters

  • Refugee crisis
  • Refugees
  • Germany
  • Berlin
  • Far-Right

Most Read

Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025
The ‘Arab Façade’ for Israeli occupation in Gaza

The ‘Arab Façade’ for Israeli occupation in Gaza

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A scene showing an al-Qassam Brigades fighter during an ambush on July 7, 2025, in a video released by the al-Qassam Brigades on August 26, 2025 (al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)
Politics

Al-Qassam reveals Beit Hanoun ambush targeting Israeli forces

A Palestinian youth stands on a hill overlooking IsraelI Ofer Prison, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP)
Politics

77 Palestinian prisoners killed in Israeli prisons since October 7

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during a joint press conference with US deputy special envoy for Middle East peace Morgan Ortagus at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, Tuesday, August 26, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy Barrack calls Lebanese journalists 'animalistic"'

Tom Barrack's imperial tantrum in Beirut: When entitlement speaks (Photo by Mahdi Rtail)
Politics

Tom Barrack's imperial tantrum in Beirut: When entitlement speaks

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS