A group of PKK terrorist sympathizers in Germany’s Essen province attacked a Turkish citizen on Sunday, in a new incident adding further proof to the dangers of the terrorist organization’s presence in the country.
At a demonstration in the city of Essen, the supporters attacked a Turkish citizen waiting at a red light in his car.
The car was heavily damaged after it was attacked with sticks and stones. The attack went viral on social media.
German police nabbed some PKK supporters.
Germany's spy chief in June admitted that the country has become a platform for the PKK terrorist group's fundraising and recruitment activities targeting Türkiye.
"The PKK is organizing various fundraising campaigns in Germany and then using this money to finance terror attacks in Türkiye," Thomas Haldenwang, head of the German domestic intelligence agency BfV, told a news conference in Berlin.
He said the PKK is also using various associations in Germany to recruit young people as foreign fighters, who are then sent to Türkiye, Syria or Iraq.
According to the BfV's annual security report, the PKK terrorist group is the biggest foreign extremist group in the country, with around 14,500 followers.
The terrorist group raised an estimated 16.7 million euros ($17.8 million) in Germany last year, and also raised more than 30 million euros in Europe in various fundraising campaigns, the report said.
Since 2013, at least 295 foreign fighters from Germany traveled to northern Syria and Iraq where they received military training from PKK terrorists and took part in armed attacks in the region, according to the report.
The PKK, which is classified as an "ethno-nationalist" and "separatist" terrorist organization by the EU's law enforcement agency Europol, has been banned in Germany since 1993.
Although Türkiye has repeatedly called on its NATO ally Germany to take stronger action against the PKK, the terrorist group's activities have been largely tolerated by authorities, and Berlin has been reluctant to do more to combat the group.
Türkiye has been frequently voicing concerns over European countries' tolerance toward the PKK; however, the terrorist organization still maintains a strong presence in the region, being able to hold rallies and engage in recruitment activities.