Neo-Nazi Demonstrations Escalate In Germany Following Murder

There are heightening concerns about possible links between police and the far-right.

Germany has launched a probe into the leak to far-right groups of an arrest warrant against an Iraqi suspect in a stabbing case that triggered two days of violent anti-immigrant protests.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said judicial authorities should use all means at their disposal to respond to the leak of the warrant for the arrest of the 22-year-old Iraqi suspect over the fatal stabbing of a 35-year-old German man.

The death sparked violent anti-foreigner protests in the eastern city of Chemnitz, where footage showed numerous protestors performing the Nazi salute.

READ MORE: Neo-Nazis Clash With Leftists In Germany

The leak of the warrant was a highly unusual occurrence that drew sharp criticism across Germany, which has strict privacy guidelines for judicial proceedings, and raised concerns of possible links between police and anti-migrant parties.

Critics said the warrant, which contained details of the number of stab wounds, may have been leaked to further inflame anger against migrants.

The stabbing and subsequent protests have exposed deep divisions in German society over Chancellor Angela Merkel's 2015 decision to open the door to more than one million migrants, mostly Muslims fleeing Middle East conflicts.

The incident has also laid bare close links between a range of anti-migrant groups, including soccer hooligans and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, and their ability to quickly mobilise thousands of demonstrators.

Prosecutors on Wednesday said they had launched an investigation into the leak and had taken steps to protect two witnesses named in the document.

The deputy premier of the state, Martin Dulig, a Social Democrat, suggested in two German media interviews that the leak had likely come from police or judicial authorities.

"We have a bigger problem to deal with there," he told broadcaster MDR.

A spokesman for the Dresden prosecutor's office, which is handling the investigation, said the circle of those who had access to the document was not small.