Berlin
Racist attack on 17-year-olds: The shock runs deep
On Saturday evening, a young woman was beaten by several attackers in the Prenzlauer Berg district of Berlin. (Iconic image) Photo: Stefan Sauer/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Your video with descriptions of a racist attack has been viewed millions of times. After initial mishaps, the police are looking for perpetrators. The victim speaks of a “feeling of helplessness”.
After a racist attack on a 17-year-old girl in Berlin, which caused outrage on the internet, the police are still looking for the three perpetrators involved.
So far, seven tips have been received from witnesses, which are now being followed up, said a police spokeswoman on Thursday. The police also spoke to the victim again and are in close contact. Video recordings from surveillance cameras of the BVG transport company have been secured and are being evaluated. The young woman had posted a video on social media. There was a lot of reaction on the internet.
The 17-year-old told the Watson news portal that she had to “live with this feeling of helplessness” than the groundless attack. “I was like a little worm being eaten by a flock of birds,” the youngster said. “I saw this circle that formed around me as a helper, I approached these people. Instead, I was insulted and laughed at. And I think that’s a lot worse.”
Physically, she suffered a slight traumatic brain injury, abdominal trauma, concussion, bruises and many bruises all over her body.
Three men arrested
After the attack on Saturday evening, the police arrested three men aged 42, 44 and 51 as suspected attackers in a pub in the area. A police officer recognized one of the men on a video that the young woman had made of the perpetrators and was able to assign him to a pub because of previous operations. The three drunk men denied the crime and said nothing to the three women.
According to her description, the 17-year-old of Turkish origin from Berlin was racially accosted, beaten and kicked by three women and three men on Saturday evening in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg. In a video from the hospital, she reported the incident, sometimes crying: “I was beaten up yesterday because I’m a foreigner.” She called for help, but despite many people around, no one intervened. The video was viewed millions of times online and received over 25,000 comments.
The police initially misrepresented the attack and wrote that the conflict was triggered by the woman not wearing a corona mask. The dpa had also adopted the original description of the police in a report and also did not mention the young woman’s references to racist insults.