MEND: Hanau Statement

In light of the tragic deaths of at least nine individuals in Germany this morning, MEND wishes to extend its thoughts and best wishes to all those affected by politically motivated violence. While the multiple factors and unanswered questions surrounding this case cannot be overlooked, the role of rising levels of far-right violence across the global context cannot be ignored. It is imperative that lessons from Christchurch, Halle, and now Hanau are learned and that policies are implemented to protect minority communities. MEND calls on policymakers to implement primary legislation to deal with social media offences and hate speech online and commit to working with social media companies to protect free speech while developing an efficient strategy to tackle hate speech online in consultation with Muslim grassroots organisations.

Read MEND’s briefing on protecting against violence from the far-right here