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man with kippa (symbol image)
Photo:
Swen gatekeeper / dpa
After the attack by two men on a kippa wearer in downtown Cologne, state security is investigating.
The police temporarily arrested one of the suspects on Friday evening.
The 25-year-old is charged with bodily harm, as the police headquarters in Cologne announced on Sunday.
The suspect was released in coordination with the public prosecutor's office on Saturday morning.
The search for the second person involved in the crime, who has since been identified and who is registered in Bremen, is still ongoing.
The man is being investigated for allegations of insult and incitement to hatred.
The investigators assume that the background to the attack on a 22-year-old Iraqi Jew is his help in arresting a suspected thief by a shop detective.
The detective had observed a 27-year-old man stealing on Friday evening, overpowered the suspect in front of the shop and asked bystanders for help.
When the kippa wearer complied, one of the two Syrian suspects is said to have insulted him with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The 25-year-old who was initially arrested is said to have hit the young man in the face with his fist.
nis/AFP