This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/german-city-holds-crisis-meeting-after-new-year-sex-assaults/2016/01/05/77555bbe-b39c-11e5-8abc-d09392edc612_story.html

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Cologne mayor: New Year sex assaults ‘intolerable’ Merkel outraged at New Year sex assaults in Cologne
(about 3 hours later)
BERLIN — The mayor of Cologne condemned a series of sexual assaults in the western German city on New Year’s Eve, calling Tuesday for the perpetrators to be “prosecuted in the toughest possible way.” BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced outrage Tuesday at a series of sexual assaults in the western city of Cologne on New Year’s Eve, saying the perpetrators need to be found as soon as possible.
Henriette Reker spoke after holding a crisis meeting with city and police officials to discuss the assaults. Merkel called Cologne’s mayor Henriette Reker to express her concern about the assaults, which took place around Cologne’s main train station, next to the city’s famous cathedral.
Police say dozens of women reported being sexually assaulted and robbed around Cologne’s main train station, next to the city’s famous cathedral, during the night from Thursday to Friday. At least 90 criminal complaints have been filed, including one allegation of rape. In a statement, Merkel office said the chancellor called for everything to be done “to find the perpetrators as quickly and comprehensively as possible and to punish them without regard to their origin or background.”
“The actions of the perpetrators were completely intolerable, and so we expect them to be prosecuted in the toughest possible way,” Reker said. The incident has sparked a debate about the behavior of migrants in Germany after witnesses and police described the perpetrators as being men of “Arab or North African origin” who had gathered in large numbers near the train station.
According to police, witnesses described the assaults as being committed by men of “Arab or North African origin” who had gathered in large numbers near the train station. “We don’t currently have any suspects, so we don’t know who the perpetrators were,” Cologne’s police chief Wolfgang Albers told reporters. “All we know is that the police at the scene perceived that it was mostly young men aged 18 to 35 from the Arab or North African region.”
Cologne’s mayor also cautioned against hasty conclusions about the perpetrators.
“It’s completely improper ... to link a group that appeared to come from North Africa with the refugees,” Reker said.
Police say dozens of women reported being sexually assaulted and robbed during the night from Thursday to Friday. At least 90 criminal complaints have been filed, including one allegation of rape.
Albers expressed regret that initial police reports of the New Year’s festivities contained no mention of the assaults.
“The full extent of the assaults, particularly the sexual assaults, only became apparent to us the following day,” he said.
Separately, police in the northern city of Hamburg appealed for witnesses who observed similar sexual assaults and thefts in the St. Pauli district on New Year’s night.Separately, police in the northern city of Hamburg appealed for witnesses who observed similar sexual assaults and thefts in the St. Pauli district on New Year’s night.
Green Party lawmaker Claudia Roth warned against blaming refugees for the assaults. German Justice Minister Heiko Maas, who condemned the attacks in Cologne as “cowardly and vile,” also warned against hasty conclusions about the perpetrators. Cologne’s mayor, who held a crisis meeting with police officials Tuesday, said her city would step up measures to prevent such attacks during the annual carnival festivities next month, during which alcohol-soaked street parties are the norm.
“In criminal law what’s important is proving a crime, and everyone is equal before the law,” Maas said. “It doesn’t matter where someone comes from, it matters what they did and that we can prove it.”
Cologne’s mayor said her city would step up measures to prevent similar attacks during the annual carnival festivities next month.
“We will also have to explain our carnival better to people from other cultures, so that there’s no confusion about the cheerful behavior in Cologne that has nothing to do with candor, especially candid sexuality,” Reker said.“We will also have to explain our carnival better to people from other cultures, so that there’s no confusion about the cheerful behavior in Cologne that has nothing to do with candor, especially candid sexuality,” Reker said.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.