A German Greens campaigner was attacked and robbed on the outskirts of Berlin on Tuesday.
The attack took place around 11:30 a.m. (09:30 GMT) in Hohen Neuendorf in the eastern German state of Brandenburg, where elections are due to be held in September.
The newspaper Märkische Allgemeine reported that an unknown man approached a 68-year-old GroenLinks campaigner and verbally assaulted him. He then pushed him to the ground and stole his bag containing election leaflets.
The alleged perpetrator then ran away, leaving the activist slightly injured.
Special police teams responsible for politically motivated crimes have taken over the case, a police spokesman in the eastern German state of Brandenburg said.
Anne Schumacher, spokeswoman for the Green Party, condemned the attack, calling it cowardly and unacceptable.
Police in Brandenburg report a significant increase in attacks on politicians this year.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, 75 politically motivated crimes against office holders and party representatives were registered from January to March alone, compared to 55 in the same period in 2023.
In a striking recent incident, Christian Democratic Union member Adeline Abimnwi Awemo was racially insulted and attacked as she put up posters in the eastern city of Cottbus, where the Cameroonian-born politician has lived for more than 20 years.
The violent incidents occurred during a period of excellent elections in the state. State parliamentary elections are due to be held on 22 September, following European and local elections earlier this year.
