Overview
- The Bundeskabinett approved and forwarded a government draft on Wednesday that raises minimum jail terms for physical attacks on protected workers from three to six months and expands the bill to the Bundestag and Bundesrat for debate.
- The proposal raises the top penalty for particularly severe cases to one to ten years in prison and makes ambushes defined as 'treacherous attacks' explicitly eligible for the harsher range.
- Newly listed protected groups include doctors and medical staff, train and local-transport employees, and workers for public utilities such as water, electricity, and heating.
- The draft also broadens non‑violence provisions by increasing penalties for Volksverhetzung in some cases and allowing courts to temporarily revoke the right to hold office or run for election after certain convictions.
- Supporters say the changes respond to rising assaults on police and other staff and high-profile incidents, while legal groups say the law will have limited effect unless states add prosecutors and judges to clear a backlog of open cases.