Apology and resignation after offending tweet

The Zurich man at the centre of a Twitter controversy has apologised for sending an Islamophobic tweet and resigned from the Swiss People's Party. He is under investigation for suspected violation of anti-racism laws.

The Zurich prosecutor’s office opened a criminal investigation on Tuesday after the committe member of a local branch of the rightwing People’s Party tweeted: "Maybe we need a new Kristallnacht … this time against the mosques”.

Also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, Kristallnacht is the name given to a pogrom against Jews in Germany in November 1938, during which nearly 100 people were killed and businesses and synagogues attacked while authorities looked on.

In its statement, the prosecutor’s office said it had interviewed the author of the tweet, searched his home and seized the equipment used to post the comments on social networking site Twitter. (...)