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CRIME

Neo-Nazi thugs young and uneducated

Neo-Nazi delinquents are mostly young people with low levels of educational achievement, a new report shows.

The study, from the Berlin office for the protection of the constitution, said most attacks were not planned. Ehrhart Körting (SPD), Berlin senator for the interior, presented the study on Thursday:

“The avoidance of rightwing violence and the development of preventative and intervening measures remains a task for all of society,” Ehrhart told the Berliner Zeitung.

The study included 300 young people between the ages of 15 and 24 who have committed violent crimes with far-right associations.

The researchers focused on the sequence of events involved in the crimes, the location of the crimes and other distinctive features of the crimes and the people who committed them such as where the delinquents lived, their age, their education and criminal record.

Most crimes committed by rightwing extremists are carried out near where the delinquents live and usually take place where groups of neo-Nazi youth meet. This study was a follow-up of previous studies on rightwing violence conducted in 1998 and 2003.

BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

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