Police in Cologne launch new sex attack investigation... into who was leaking information to the Press about cover ups
- Details
- Category: Rape refugees
- Created: Wednesday, 24 February 2016 22:28
- Written by Julian Robinson and Gianluca Mezzofiore - Mailonline
Police in Cologne have faced embarrassment over leaks about the attacks- Leaks included secret internal document detailing the extent of the crimes
- Officials probing 73 people suspected of involvement in New Year attacks
- See more news from Germany at www.dailymail.co.uk/germany
Police in Cologne have launched a new sex attack investigation - into who was leaking information to the Press about cover-ups.
The Cologne force has repeatedly faced embarrassment over the leaks amid claims senior officers played down the role of immigrants in the wave of New Year sex attacks in the city.
Leaks included a secret internal document detailing the extent of the crimes, as well as an interview with a senior officer who revealed how they were receiving hundreds of requests for help on the night but were powerless to do anything.
The official added they were dealing with a level of disrespect for the law which they had never seen before.
Prosecutors in Cologne have confirmed that police are gathering material which will then be examined for evidence as to the source of the leaks that resulted in complaints from the region's interior minister Ralf Jager.
It also led to the previous Cologne police president Wolfgang Albers going into retirement after his statements were proven to be incorrect by the leaks that then followed.
A public enquiry is now being carried out in North Rhine-Westphalia into the incidents.
Prosecutors say that so far they are looking at 73 people on suspicion that they were involved in the New Year sex attacks, of which many are reportedly from North Africa. Of these, 15 are being kept in custody while the investigation continues.
It comes days after it was revealed asylum-seekers from Morocco would not be welcomed in Germany'smost populous state, following official reports that identified migrants from the country among suspects in to the wave of sexual attacks and robbery in Cologne.
North Rhine-Westphalia's interior minister, Ralf Jager, said federal authorities had agreed not to send any more Moroccans to refugee centres in the state.
He added that the rate of arrival of people from the Mahreb region has grown significantly, but many of these migrants 'do not qualify as asylum-seekers and thus, do not receive asylum status'.
The Cologne force has repeatedly faced embarrassment over the leaks amid claims senior officers modified reports to play down the role of immigrants in the wave of New Year sex attacks in the city
'Immigrants from the North African region appear disproportionately as offenders,' Ralf Jäger, the state interior minister, said.
'Frequently the suspects are young men travelling alone.'
According to provincial data, 6,444 Moroccans and 6,790 Algerians sought asylum in North-Rhine Westphalia in 2015, representing a 300 percent increase from 2014.
An astonishing 80 per cent of Moroccan migrants are located in the state, mainly in the two main cities of Cologne and Dusseldorf.
But they have little chance of being granted asylum in Germany, as they are not fleeing from war or conflict in their homeland.
Last month, more than 200 asylum-seekers sued the provincial government for taking too long to process their applications. Some of the plaintiffs had been waiting for over a year, The Local reported.
Police are currently investigating 73 people in connection to sexual assaults, theft and other crimes committed on New Year's Eve in Cologne.
Many of the suspects were people who had arrived in Germany in the past year.
'The overwhelming majority of persons fall into the general category of refugees,' Prosecutor Ulrich Bremer said. He added that some reports describing only three of the suspects as refugees were 'total nonsense.'
Authorities in Cologne have been accused of downplaying the fact that the attackers included many asylum-seekers because of the political sensitivity of the issue.
The suspects included 30 Moroccan nationals, 27 Algerians, four Iraqis, three Germans, three Syrians, three Tunisians, and one each from Libya, Iran and Montenegro, Bremer said.
'They have various legal statuses, including illegal entry, asylum-seekers and asylum applicants,' he said of the foreign suspects. 'That covers the overwhelming majority of suspects.'
Following the outrage over Cologne, Germany is looking to limit migration from North Africa by labelling Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia 'safe countries', cutting their chance of being granted asylum to virtually zero.
Source : https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3460560/Police-Cologne-launch-new-sex-attack-investigation-leaking-information-Press-cover-ups.html
