Thousands of protesters have gathered in the eastern German city of Dresden to mark the second anniversary of the anti-immigration and Islamophobic movement Pegida. An independent research group, Durchgezählt, estimated the turnout at between 6,500 and 8,500 people – far less than the 20,000 who joined the anniversary rally a year ago. City authorities will hold a festival for residents, and an anti-Pegida group has called a rally at the same time to “send a sign against the hate” spouted by Pegida. Pegida, an acronym of Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident, was born in October 2014. In May Bachmann was convicted of inciting racial hatred and fined nearly €10,000 for referring to refugees as “cattle” and “scum” on social media.

Source: The Guardian October 16, 2016 17:26 UTC