Death threats to German health minister and her children

German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has revealed that death threats against him and his family are increasing. Lauterbach assumed his post last year and he is receiving these threats due to the corona restrictions imposed by the government.

Lauterbach is a trained epidemiologist. He said that the situation has now become such that he cannot park his car outside his own house in Cologne. They said that now they cannot step out of the house without guards. In an interview with a local newspaper in the city of Cologne, he said, “Not only is my life in danger, but my children are also getting death threats.”

“I can’t even go out for a walk in the evening without personal guards,” he added. Lauterbach has been repeatedly targeted by opponents of the coronavirus measures. German investigators also uncovered an anti-state group earlier this year that was allegedly planning Lauterbach’s kidnapping.

Lauterbach warned last week that Germany was headed for another spike in Covid infections. He also criticized local authorities for relaxing quarantine laws in several German states.

Several German politicians have received death threats in the past due to lockdown restrictions and vaccination laws. However, scientists and doctors have also been targeted by groups opposing Corona restrictions. Among them are renowned virologists Christian Drosten and Luther Weller.

Germany has a history of violence against political figures, and a number of politicians have been targeted by the far-right in recent years. In 2019, a 48-year-old neo-Nazi was convicted of murdering CDU politician Walter Lübke.

In 2015, Henriette Riker, a female politician belonging to the political party CDU, was stabbed by a right-wing extremist. He was campaigning for the mayoralty in Cologne at the time.