German far-right lawmaker seriously injured in attack

German far-right politician Frank Magnitz was seriously injured following an alleged politically motivated attack by a group of masked men in Bremen city, party officials said on Tuesday.

Magnitz, Alternative for Germany's (AfD) leader in Bremen and a member of Parliament, the Bundestag, was assaulted on Monday by three masked men who allegedly knocked the politician unconscious with a block of wood before kicking him in the head.

"We wish Frank Magnitz a speedy and full recovery and hope that those responsible for this cowardly and unjustifiable attack will be caught as quickly as possible and punished accordingly," AfD said in a statement on Facebook.

The statement was accompanied by a photo of Magnitz lying on a hospital bed with a severe gash to the forehead and a swollen eye.

The party thanked a construction worker for coming to his aid and said Magnitz was attacked immediately after he left a New Year reception in Bremen's Kunsthalle art museum.

The AfD, an anti-immigration, far-right outfit, became Germany's third political force in the 2017 federal elections.

Last week an AfD office in the eastern town of Döbeln was damaged in an explosion. No one was hurt.

--IANS

soni/bg