Twitter blocks German lawmaker's account after anti-Muslim tweet

A prominent lawmaker from Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) was blocked on Twitter after her response to a tweet sent out by Cologne police.

Beatrix von Storch responded in anger to a tweet put out by the Cologne police in Arabic and other foreign languages wishing people a happy new year.

"What the hell is happening in this country? Why does an official police site tweet in Arabic," tweeted von Storch.

"Do they think they will calm the barbaric, Muslim, group-raping hordes of men this way?" She added.

Von Storch's Twitter account was blocked for several hours on Monday over a suspected breach of rules on hate speech. A criminal complaint was filed by the police on Tuesday over suspected incitement.

This is not the first time von Storch has come under fire for her remarks. After Germany lost to France in the semi-finals of the Euro 2016 championships, von Storch implied that her country's football team lost to France because of players from immigrant origins.

Hundreds of women complained following New Year celebrations two years ago about being groped and robbed, mostly by groups of migrants.

In June, a right-wing Austrian politician released a strange anti-groping instructional video for refugees and migrants that tapped into the anti-migrant hysteria fuelled by a number of cases of sexual assault in Europe.

Far right extremists have exploited fears in the past. Earlier in the year official documents suggested that the bombers responsible for an attack on the team bus of Germany's Borussia Dortmund football club may have been planted by far-right extremists in an attempt to incite a backlash against Muslims.