German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier attended a minute-long silence in memory of murdered police officer Rouven Laur in the southwestern city of Mannheim on Friday.

The 29-year-old policeman died in hospital on Sunday after he was stabbed several times by a 25-year-old Afghan asylum-seeker, who also injured five participants at a rally organized by the anti-Islam movement Pax Europa.

How Mannheim paid tribute

The silence was held at 11:34 a.m. local time — exactly a week after the stabbing in the city’s market square.

Baden-Württemberg state Premier Winfried Kretschmann and state Interior Minister Thomas Strobl joined Steinmeier for the moment of silence.

The German president laid a bouquet of flowers at the scene of the crime. 

A police spokeswoman said between 1,500 and 2,000 people had gathered in honor of the murdered policeman.

Mannheim knife attack: Police suspect Islamist motive

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Around 50 officers from the Mannheim police headquarters, mainly patrol officers, lined up in front of the sea of ​​flowers on the market square and remembered their colleague with their hands clasped.

Protests planned later in day

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party plans to demonstrate against Islamism later was set to take place at 6 p.m., with a counter-demonstration by the anti-fascist organization Antifa at the same time.

A local candidate for the AfD was injured in a separate knife attack this week, also in Mannheim, by a man who police said showed clear signs of mental illness.

At 4:30 p.m., a rally was planned under the motto “Mannheim stands together — for democracy and diversity.”

That event was organized by a branch of the German Trade Union Federation, representatives of democratic parties and religious groups. 

rc/sms (dpa, AFP)

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