The number of offences committed against journalists in Germany has risen sharply in recent years.
According to the federal government’s reply to a parliamentary inquiry by the Left Party – which was reported by the “Rheinische Post” on Tuesday – the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) recorded 818 politically motivated crimes (KPMD‑PMK) involving media as the target, with a reporting deadline of 31 December 2025. These cases cover the period from 1 April 2024 to 30 November 2025. Of the 818 incidents, 89 were classified as violent offences. That works out to an average of roughly 41 incidents per month. By comparison, the government reported 290 cases in 2023, which averages about 24 per month – an increase of around 71 percent.
In addition to the rise in numbers, the data shows that most of the cases are attributed to the political right. One‑third (244) are labelled “right‑wing”, 78 are “left‑wing”, 153 fall under “foreign ideology” and 31 under “religious ideology”. A further 312 cases are listed under “other allocation”, meaning they do not fit neatly into any of the four categories.
The incidents are also unevenly spread across the states. Berlin alone records 406 cases – nearly half of all reported crimes. The next highest numbers are in Saxony (82), Bavaria (64) and North Rhine‑Westphalia (55).
Online attacks have increased as well. In the calendar year 2024, the BKA logged 217 crimes against media in which the Internet was listed as the tool used; this figure climbed to 333 in 2025. Many of these involved hateful online postings.
David Schliesing, media‑policy spokesperson for the Left in the Bundestag, expressed alarm at the figures. He warned, “The scale of violent assaults and offences against media professionals has reached a frighteningly high level. Federal and state authorities must act immediately and do much more to protect journalistic work”. He added, “These are shocking numbers, and we must not become accustomed to them”.