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CRIME

Witness in hate crime documentary beaten in Mügeln

A German man who recently appeared in a documentary about a 2007 hate crime was injured in an attack that may be related to his testimony in the film, police said on Tuesday in Leipzig.

Witness in hate crime documentary beaten in Mügeln
Police clean up the mob scene in Mügeln after the 2007 attack. Photo: DPA

The 35-year-old was treated for lacerations on his head and haematoma after he was attacked from behind by a 20-year-old in Mügeln on Saturday night.

The man, who had appeared a documentary aired by public broadcaster ARD about a shocking anti-foreigner attack against a group of eight Indians by a mob of Germans after a town festival in Mügeln in August 2007, told police his remarks in the film may be related to Saturday’s attack.

“We are investigating whether there is a connection,” a Leipzig prosecutor’s office spokesman Ricardo Schulz said, adding that the suspect in the attack is known for other crimes, though none of them race-related.

The suspect was not involved in the 2007 attack, but will “face the hard reality of the law,” according to Mügeln ‘s mayor Gotthard Deuse in local daily Leipziger Volkszeitung.

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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