Pro-refugee German mayor stabbed in kebab shop queue

THE mayor of a small German town that took in more than its quota of refugees has been injured in a knife attack by a man protesting against immigration.

Andreas Hollstein, the mayor of Altena, near Dortmund, suffered a 5in cut to his neck in the attack, which took place as he queued at a kebab shop on Monday night. The mayor was rescued by the owner of the kebab shop and his son, who are of immigrant heritage.

“If it hadn’t been for them, I would not be here today,” Mr Hollstein told a press conference yesterday. “I thank these citizens.”

Demir Abdullah, the shop owner, told Bild newspaper: “The mayor came in and ordered a kebab. This guy went up to him a few minutes later and asked if he was the mayor. He complained he was hungry and thirsty and said Hollstein was letting too many foreigners into Altena. He was very drunk. Then he pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the neck.”

The knifeman has not been named under local privacy laws, but he is believed to be a German citizen. Mr Hollstein made headlines when Altena took in more than its quota of refugees.

Honoured by Angela Merkel at a ceremony in May, he is also one of 11 public figures who wrote of taking a stand against the far-right in a book last year entitled Mein Kampf gegen Rechts, or My Struggle against the Right.

“I am appalled by the knife attack on mayor Andreas Hollstein and very relieved he is back with his family,” the chancellor said yesterday.