Germany sees surge in hate crimes amid restrictions on civil liberties, HRW report says

BERLIN (MNTV) – Germany experienced a troubling erosion of civil liberties and surge in hate crimes throughout 2024 and into 2025, as the far-right Alternative for Germany party achieved unprecedented electoral success and the new coalition government pursued increasingly restrictive policies on migration and dissent, according to Human Rights Watch’s latest assessment.

The February 2025 general elections, which followed a campaign season marked by mainstreaming of extremist rhetoric targeting minorities and migrants, resulted in a coalition government between the conservative CDU/CSU and Social Democratic Party. 

The new administration has doubled down on regressive migration policies while civic space has notably contracted.

Official statistics revealed an alarming 40 percent increase in politically motivated hate crimes in 2024 compared to the previous year, with half of the 84,172 registered offenses classified as right-wing extremist. 

Islamophobic crimes jumped 26 percent to 1,848 cases, though civil society organizations documented 3,080 anti-Muslim incidents using broader human rights definitions—a 60 percent increase. 

German authorities increasingly targeted freedom of expression and assembly, particularly concerning Palestine solidarity activism. 

The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights raised concerns about restrictions based on blanket classification of Israel criticism as antisemitic, excessive police force against Berlin protesters, and limitations on academic freedom at cultural and educational institutions.

In an unprecedented move, the CDU/CSU submitted 551 parliamentary questions about 14 civil society organizations that had protested right-wing extremism, questioning their funding and neutrality. 

Affected groups described this as an intimidation attempt. Separately, climate activists faced continued criminalization, with prosecutors charging five Last Generation members under allegations of running a criminal organization.

Violence against journalists more than doubled, with Reporters Without Borders documenting 89 attacks in 2024 compared to 41 in 2023.

Racism and anti-immigrant bigotry

The government enacted sweeping restrictions on asylum and migration. 

Measures included intensified border controls allowing rejection of asylum seekers—despite a court ruling the policy violated EU law—a two-year suspension of family reunification for subsidiary protection beneficiaries, and new executive powers to designate “safe countries of origin” without parliamentary oversight. 

Germany suspended its humanitarian admission program for Afghan refugees and announced plans to end refugee resettlement programs entirely.

The fatal police shooting of Lorenz A., a 21-year-old Black man, reignited debates about systemic racism within German law enforcement, though the Justice Ministry denied racist motivation.

Domestic violence affected nearly 266,000 people in 2024, with women comprising over 70 percent of victims. 

One-fifth of the population remained at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

Experts raise alarm

UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression Irene Khan warned that hate speech and anti-Muslim hatred were rising.

Khan said anti-terrorism laws restricting Palestinian rights advocacy had chilled public participation and shrunk discourse in academia and the arts, creating uncertainty about protected speech and encouraging self-censorship. 

She emphasized that offensive but lawful speech should be addressed through education and debate, not criminalization.