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800 crimes against refugee homes reported this year

The Local Germany
The Local Germany - [email protected]
800 crimes against refugee homes reported this year
A building to be used as an asylum home was burned down last year in Nauen, Brandenburg. Photo: DPA.

The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has recorded nearly 800 cases of crimes against refugee homes so far this year, German media reported on Wednesday.

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The number of crimes committed against refugee homes has increased across the country, reaching 797 cases so far this year, according to BKA figures seen by publishing group Funke Mediengruppe.

The overwhelming majority of these cases - 740 - were perpetrated by “right-wing motivated offenders”, including neo-Nazis.

As Germany has taken in a record number of asylum seekers over the past year - nearly 900,000 people last year alone - the number of attacks on asylum homes has exploded. More than 1,000 incidents were reported last year, up from just 199 in 2014 and 69 in 2013.

Funke Mediengruppe noted that experts say amid the large influx of asylum seekers, some normally “ordinary citizens” have radicalized and attacked immigrants.

Of the crimes committed against refugee homes as of mid-October this year, 320 cases were property damage; 180 involved the distribution of right-wing extremist or xenophobic propaganda; and 137 cases were violent attacks.

There were also 61 cases of arson, as well as ten cases of explosive materials being used. In four of these cases, the materials exploded in or by the refugee homes.

Other figures reported by Tagesspiegel on Tuesday showed that neo-Nazis have been implicated in more attempted murder cases so far this year than in previous years.

As of the beginning of this month, police nationwide recorded 11 attempted murders by neo-Nazis, which was four more than the previous year according to a parliamentary inquiry seen by Tagesspiegel. In 2014, there was only one such case.

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