A PROMINENT Berlin politician was violently assaulted and suffered injuries to her head and neck, police said today, in the latest attack on elected officials that raises concern over rising political violence in Germany.

Franziska Giffey, the city’s top economic official, a former mayor and an ex-federal minister, was attacked at an event in a Berlin library on Tuesday by a man who approached her from behind and hit her with a bag containing a hard device, police said.

Ms Giffey was taken to a hospital and treated for head and neck pain, police said. A 74-year-old man was detained by the police.