German far-right politician says migrants can be shot or gassed

The former spokesperson of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), Christian Luth, is alleged to have said that migrants can be “shot or gassed.”

According to German newspaper Zeit, he made the statements against immigrants in Germany at a dinner earlier this year with an influencer in Berlin.

Asked if the arrival of more migrants was in the interest of AfD, Luth allegedly said: "Yes. Because then AfD will be better.”

“Still, we can shoot them all. This is no problem at all. Or, gassing, or whatever you want. It's the same to me."

"The worse it gets for Germany, the better for the AfD," he added.

The comments were later aired in a TV documentary by German channel, ProSieben.

The AfD dismissed Luth as party spokesperson in April for reportedly describing himself as a fascist.

With recent developments, he was also fired from the AfD, which is the largest opposition group in the German parliament known as the Bundestag, according to DW.

"The comments attributed to Christian Luth are totally unacceptable and incompatible with the aims and policies of the AfD," co-leader of the AfD's parliamentary group, Alexander Gauland, was quoted as saying. 

Germany has experienced increasing xenophobia and racism in recent years fuelled by far-right politicians and groups.

The rise of far-right in Germany

Germany’s main far-right party, the Alternative for Germany (AfD), enjoys considerable public support, taking 89 of the 709 seats available in the German parliament. 

The AfD’s activity includes regular baiting of Muslims and the circulation of racist caricatures of predominantly Muslim groups.

In 2019, it put up paintings across Berlin of Muslim men of various colours inspecting a naked slave girl with the caption ‘Europeans vote AfD! So Europe doesn't become Eurabia!".

In February, a regional branch of the far-right party distributed colouring books which included racist depictions of the country’s Turkish minority. In it, veiled women and gangsters were depicted waving Turkish flags and firing pistols.

German superstar, Mesut Ozil, has also been targeted by the far-right attacks.

Ozil quit the national team in 2018 after Germany’s poor performance in the World Cup. Many media outlets made him the scapegoat for their first-round departure.

Ozil said that he was “German when we win, an immigrant when we lose.”