It was on the night of September 14, 2024, when the Lower Saxony state parliament became the target of a paint attack. ‘Unknown persons,’ as it was initially reported, smeared red paint on the façade and wrote the slogan ‘Free Gaza.’ (photo) The attack caused property damage amounting to €70,000. The façade had to be cleaned at great expense. The CDU called it an ‘attack on our democracy.’
One of the perpetrators was eventually tracked down: 25-year-old Mohammad K., a native of Syria, was fined 2,000 euros by the Hanover District Court earlier this month. He partially confessed to the crime and described it as an ‘act of desperation.’ So far, so normal – at least for now. But now it has come to light that this same K. had received an award from the Lower Saxony state government in November 2022.
And not just any award. ‘Mr K. was portrayed as an example of successful integration due to his commitment to political education at the time,’ a government spokesperson told the Hannoversche Allgemeine newspaper. To this end, K. had submitted a video documenting his ‘personal success story’.
The action alliance ‘Niedersachsen packt an’ (Lower Saxony gets things done), which is represented by the state government, described his story in a press release at the time as ‘particularly touching and remarkable’. K., who was involved in the association ‘Politik zum Anfassen’ (Hands-on Politics), brings young people closer to ‘how participation in political processes works’. The text was enthusiastically headlined: ‘Show how integration works!’
There was no prize money. Instead, none other than the then Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) was present. Weil acted as the organiser of the competition. And he made the guest house of the Lower Saxony state government available for the award ceremony.
The Hanover branch of the German-Israeli Society (DIG) expressed its horror on Sunday and demanded that the prize be revoked. In a comprehensive press release, the DIG made a series of accusations against K. that go far beyond the attack on the Lower Saxony state parliament. Among other things, he is said to be a co-organiser of ‘Intifada Hannover,’ whose events ‘regularly call for the destruction of the State of Israel.’
‘K. repeatedly attracts attention there with loud insults and threatening gestures towards counter-demonstrators,’ the statement said. On August 23, 2025, for example, he threatened a female demonstrator with the words: ‘We’ll get you too!’ In fact, according to reports, K. is known to the police for his demonstration activities.
The Lower Saxony state government is now noticeably embarrassed by the matter. A clear distancing is ‘a matter of course and more than appropriate,’ a spokesperson for the state chancellery admitted to the Evangelical Press Service. He added that, based on current information, the award would no longer be presented to the Syrian. However, it is not possible to formally withdraw the award.
Instead, the ‘Bündnis Niedersachsen’ (Lower Saxony Alliance) has removed K.’s name from the press release announcing the award. A photo showing K. standing next to the smiling Minister President with a bouquet of flowers in his hand has also been removed. Meanwhile, the association ‘Menschen helfen Menschen’ (People Help People) in Nienburg still lists K. as a member of its board. The purpose of the association is ‘to promote tolerance in all areas of culture’.