A young CDU youth politician, Simon Schmidt, was brutally attacked by a group of migrants on Monday night in Lüneburg-Kaltenmoor, near Hamburg.
Schmidt, 24, was lured into a meeting via a dating app, only to be ambushed by eight migrant youths who beat him while hurling homophobic slurs. The attackers, described as migrants from Syria or Afghanistan, also threatened Schmidt with a knife during the assault.
Schmidt, who serves as the treasurer for the Junge Union, the youth wing of the Christian Democrats, was left with serious injuries, including facial damage, and had to be treated at Hamburg-Eppendorf University Hospital. He will require surgery on his cheekbone before Christmas.
Police are investigating the incident, which occurred on school grounds in the Lüneburg district. Schmidt’s colleagues have condemned the attack, calling attention to the rising homophobia and violence linked to irregular migration. CDU politician Jens Spahn, also gay, has voiced concern about increasing violence and intolerance in Germany, stating, “Germany has become more homophobic, misogynistic, and violent due to irregular migration.”
The attack is part of a troubling pattern of homophobic violence in Germany, which has seen multiple incidents involving migrants from regions where homosexuality is often persecuted.
