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Crime

AfD bombing suspects free for lack of evidence

Darko Janjevic
January 5, 2019

Police have released three suspects held over a blast that damaged a local office of the far-right AfD party in the city of Döbeln. The authorities said there was not enough evidence to keep three local men in custody.

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Damaged window pane at the AfD office in Döbeln
Image: Reuters/M. Rietschel

Three men suspected of involvement in the AfD office bombing in Döbeln were set free after German prosecutors decided there was not enough evidence to issue a detention order, authorities in the German state of Saxony said.

However, the three German nationals were still considered suspects for the Thursday evening blast, according to the public broadcaster MDR Sachsen. Police said the men were aged 29, 32, and 50 and were residents of Döbeln, where the attack took place.

Authorities believe perpetrators detonated an "unknown substance" that damaged the door and the window frame of the AfD's Döbeln office. The blast also set ablaze advertising materials inside the office, and damaged two vans parked in front of it. No injuries were reported.

Firefighters clear the rubbe in front of the AfD Döbeln office
The blast also damaged nearby buildings in DöbelnImage: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Willnow

The local anti-terrorism and anti-extremism unit is involved in the investigation, according to the German DPA agency.

Saxony state premier Michael Kretschmer called for a prompt response.

"We want the perpetrators to be brought to justice," he said.

Read more: Police refute claims of far-right patrols after migrant attacks

Police previously said there was a series of attacks against AfD buildings in the region, but most of them were limited to property damage.

On Saturday, German authorities said another anti-AfD attack has been reported, this time in the northwest city of Meppen, where unknown perpetrators smeared red paint and sprayed construction foam at the family home of an AfD politician. According to first estimates, the attack caused some €5,000 (5,698$) in property damage. Police assume that the attack is politically motivated.