cool_hand Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35231046 Germany shocked by Cologne New Year gang assaults on women Cologne officials say the systematic assaults on women are a new type of crime The mayor of Cologne has summoned police for crisis talks after about 80 women reported sexual assaults and muggings by men on New Year's Eve. The scale of the attacks on women at the city's central railway station has shocked Germany. About 1,000 drunk and aggressive young men were involved. City police chief Wolfgang Albers called it "a completely new dimension of crime". The men were of Arab or North African appearance, he said. Women were also targeted in Hamburg. But the Cologne assaults - near the city's iconic cathedral - were the most serious, German media report. At least one woman was raped, and many were groped. Most of the crimes reported to police were robberies. A volunteer policewoman was among those sexually molested. The pretty Christmas market and medieval setting may look idyllic, but at Christmas and New Year the area around Cologne Cathedral is a notorious danger zone when it comes to pickpockets and theft. Now the sexual harassment, and in one case rape, of dozens of women has shocked Germany. What is particularly disturbing is that the attacks appear to have been organised. Around 1,000 young men arrived in large groups, seemingly with the specific intention of carrying out attacks on women. Police in Hamburg are now reporting similar incidents on New Year's Eve in the party area of St Pauli. One politician says this is just the tip of the iceberg. And there are real concerns about what will happen in February when the drunken street-parties of carnival season kick off. Cologne will stage carnival events in February, with hundreds of thousands of revellers expected in the streets, as on New Year's Eve. The police chief said "the assailants' behaviour is a real concern for me, also because of the carnival". Police were deployed outside the central station because of the crowds on New Year's Eve, but failed to spot the many attacks, according to reports. There are also fears that a number of women did not report assaults. 'Monstrous' assaultsCologne Mayor Henriette Reker said the attacks were "monstrous". "We cannot allow this to become a lawless area," she said, insisting that visitors could not come to the city fearing attack. German Justice Minister Heiko Maas tweeted that "we won't tolerate these abhorrent assaults on women - all those responsible must be brought to justice". One man described how his partner and 15-year-old daughter were surrounded by an enormous crowd outside the station and he was unable to help. "The attackers grabbed her and my partner's breasts and groped them between their legs." A British woman visiting Cologne said fireworks had been thrown at her group by men who spoke neither German nor English. "They were trying to hug us, kiss us. One man stole my friend's bag," she told the BBC. "Another tried to get us into his 'private taxi'. I've been in scary and even life-threatening situations and I've never experienced anything like that." The justice minister warned against linking the crimes to the issue of migrants and refugees. Germany saw a record influx of migrants in 2015, which provoked an intense debate on immigration and marches by the anti-Islam Pegida movement. Mr Maas said "the law does not discriminate regarding a person's origin or passport. All are equal before the law". Cologne news website Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger says the suspects were already known to police because of frequent pickpocketing in and around Cologne central station. In Hamburg several women told police that gangs of men had molested and robbed them on New Year's Eve on the Reeperbahn - a street known for its boisterous night life. Some similar attacks were reported in Stuttgart. A policeman who was outside Cologne station during the New Year's Eve trouble told the city's Express news website that he had detained eight suspects. "They were all asylum seekers, carrying copies of their residence certificates," he said. However, there was no official confirmation that asylum seekers had been involved in the violence. Commentators in Germany were quick to urge people not to jump to conclusions. German n-tv news says Cologne police are considering calling in reinforcements from other parts of Germany and installing extra surveillance cameras, with telescopic lenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Errol Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 What did they expect? The fools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XswampyX Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Shocked! Shocked! It's never happened before? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SillyBilly Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Like Errol said...what did they expect? Surely the fact that Sweden is the rape capital of the world might be an indicator of what to expect? I just wonder how much of it is still going off in the U.K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barlow Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 No one could have foreseen this happening, no, just because they allowed thousands of young men who have no jobs, treat women as second class citizens, live off free benefits, have a totally alien culture .... no it's was not possible to predict this sort of thing. Now there are one million or so of these 'animals' in Germany what would you do if you were in charge? I would fast-track German passports and try to ship them to a country with lots of benefits from day one and where they are more likely to speak the language .... if only such a country could be found. Another good reason to get out of the EU sharpish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichB Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 Like Errol said...what did they expect? Surely the fact that Sweden is the rape capital of the world might be an indicator of what to expect? I just wonder how much of it is still going off in the U.K. But that's because of their legal definition of rape....right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cool_hand Posted January 26, 2016 Author Share Posted January 26, 2016 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35406072 Fatal stabbing at asylum centre shocks Sweden Sweden's prime minister has described as a "terrible crime" the stabbing of a female employee at a centre for young asylum seekers. Prime Minister Stefan Lofven visited the centre for unaccompanied migrants in Molndal, near Gothenburg, hours after the killing. The suspect, an asylum seeker aged 15, has been arrested for the killing of the employee, who was 22. Mr Lofven said many Swedes feared that such attacks could happen again. "I believe that there are quite many people in Sweden who feel a lot of concern that there can be more cases of this kind, when Sweden receives so many children and youth, who come alone [to seek asylum]" he was quoted as saying by Radio Sweden. Police officers arriving at the scene found a "crime scene with a lot of blood", said police press spokesman Thomas Fuxborg."The perpetrator had been overpowered by other residents, people were down and upset." The unnamed victim died in hospital of her injuries. A knife believed to be the one used in the attack was recovered. Swedish Radio said the residents at the home, all aged between 14 and 17, would be moved to new accommodation for the night. Sweden's National Police Commissioner, Dan Eliasson, has requested 4,100 additional officers and support staff to help fight against terrorism, carry out migrant deportations and police asylum facilities, Swedish news agency TT reports. "We are forced to respond to many disturbances in asylum reception centres," he was quoted as saying. "In some places, this takes significant police resources. This was not the case six months ago and it means that we won't be able to respond as effectively in other areas." Sweden accepted more than 150,000 asylum applications last year and, along with Germany, is a prime destination for refugees and other migrants entering the EU illegally. However, it recently introduced temporary border checks in a bid to control the influx of people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cashinmattress Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Merkel and her CDU are going to feel the wrath of voters in 2017. And Europe is going to see the rise of the far right across the whole union. I hope nobody is naive enough to think this hasn't been engineered. Now alls we needs is few mores deads babees on the papery things at the shopz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cool_hand Posted January 26, 2016 Author Share Posted January 26, 2016 We should be worried. If you want to take a page out of history look what happeend to Lebanon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cool_hand Posted February 6, 2016 Author Share Posted February 6, 2016 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-guernsey-35511771 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.