A far-right German MP was seriously injured in a "politically motivated" gang attack in the north of the country, police said Tuesday.
Frank Magnitz, the leader in Bremen of the anti-immigration populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD), was assaulted in the city center on Monday afternoon.
"Given the victim's work, we believe that this is a politically motivated act," police said.
The AfD party published a photo of Magnitz unconscious on a hospital bed, his face bleeding and swollen with a gash on his forehead.
It said three people with their faces covered had carried out the attack.
"They hit him with a piece of wood until he was unconscious and then kicked him on the ground," a statement from the party said, adding that a construction worker had intervened to stop the assault.
AfD leader Joerg Meuthen said Magnitz was "beaten almost to death."
Last week, an explosive device detonated in a rubbish bin damaged an AfD office in Saxony.
The AfD entered Germany's parliament with almost 13 percent of the vote last September.