Weltwoche journalist Alex Baur attacked at Zurich May Day celebration
According to his own account, *Weltwoche* journalist Alex Baur was the victim of a politically motivated physical assault at the May 1 celebration in Zurich on Wednesday. He said unknown assailants attacked him at a food stand. Aside from some scrapes, he was unharmed. He has decided not to file a police report.
The 57-year-old was at his wife's catering stand on the barracks grounds when he was physically attacked for the first time by unknown persons at around 8 p.m., writes the Tages-Anzeiger on Friday. Baur confirmed the incident on Twitter.
After a scuffle, the perpetrators let him go. Half an hour later, the journalist was attacked again by around a dozen masked men at the stand. Baur was eventually able to break away. The stand, which was occupied by his wife and two of Baur's children, was vandalized by the vandals.
According to the newspaper, the attackers told the journalist to leave, saying that he was Weltwoche and SVP have no business at this location. "It was a planned action, it all happened very quickly," wrote Baur on Twitter. He condemns the act as an attack by "cowards" on his family.
The Zurich city police are aware of the incident, a spokesperson told the Keystone-SDA news agency. Several calls had been received. However, Baur was not injured and did not press charges. There was also no major damage to property.
The May Day Committee condemns violence against individuals, a spokesperson told Keystone-SDA. So far, there have never been any problems. According to the committee, there were over 60 stands at the festival on the barracks grounds with several thousand participants.
Baur is the domestic editor of the newspaper published by SVP politician Roger Köppel. Weltwoche. He has received several awards for his research, including the Zurich Journalism Prize in 2014. However, his texts are not without controversy. Last year, the Zurich High Court convicted him of personal injury following a lawsuit by former banker Rudolf Elmer. (SDA)
