Vigil at Iranian embassy in Berlin targeted, three hurt

Three men were injured in Berlin on Sunday after an attack on a pro-democracy vigil outside the Iranian embassy, according to German police.

Two of those who were hurt in the incident in the capital's Dahlem district needed to go to a hospital for treatment, a Berlin police spokesperson confirmed.

"Three unknown persons attacked participants of a vigil in front of the Iranian embassy in Dahlem during the night," Berlin police tweeted on Sunday afternoon. "Three men were injured and another was said to have been threatened with a gun."

What do we know so far?

German news agency dpa said that a caravan with banners reading "Iranians want democracy" and "Women Life Freedom," a slogan widely used in recent anti-government protests in Iran, was attacked just after 1 a.m. local time (2300 GMT).

Police said an officer guarding the embassy saw three men with face coverings tear down banners and flags from the van. Despite calls by the officer to stop what they were doing, the attackers opened the door to the van and attacked those inside, police said.

An investigation is now being conducted by the police state protection department of the Criminal Police Office (LKA) because there may be a political motivation behind the incident.

Iran protests

Protests across Iran have been ongoing in the last six weeks since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.

At the time of her death, the Kurdish woman was in the custody of the so-called morality police. She had been arrested for allegedly not wearing a headscarf.

jsi/jcg (AP, AFP, dpa, epd)