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Frankfurt / Berlin (dpa) - After the Lübcke judgment, according to the Federal Government's Victims Commissioner, Edgar Franke, the political reappraisal must continue.
This murder, driven by hatred and inhumanity, remains a warning, he said on Thursday according to a message.
"We have to protect democracy at all levels much more decisively than before."
Right-wing extremists threatened all those who stand up for democracy.
"Threats have become almost everyday life for many who are politically active," said Franke.
Mayors, who feared for their families, turned to him again and again.
Local politicians in particular should be protected much better than before - both volunteers and full-time employees.
The higher regional court (OLG) Frankfurt had sentenced the main defendant Stephan Ernst to life imprisonment for the murder of the Kassel district president Walter Lübcke (CDU) and determined the particular gravity of the guilt.
The Heinrich Böll Foundation published a study on Thursday that deals with the subjective experiences of violence by local politicians.
The authors conducted extensive interviews with 50 local politicians.
One third of the interviewees reported assaults and half reported threats.
Almost all of the study participants said they were insulted because of their political commitment.
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“Volunteer politicians must not be left alone.
Experiences of violence are not an isolated case.
Institutional approaches are urgently needed in order to counter the problem of violence against local politicians and to empower those affected, ”said co-author Sebastian Bukow, head of the Heinrich Böll Foundation's domestic department.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210128-99-206799 / 2