A 40-year-old insulted, spat at and kicked a 17-year-old Syrian in an Erfurt tram.
The police were familiar with the perpetrator.
Erfurt - The 17-year-old Syrian sat in silence on the Erfurt tram when he was the victim of a racist attack.
As the
dpa
reported, last Friday night (April 23) the young man got into a 40-year-old who attacked him out of the blue and struck.
Several passengers recorded the attack with their cell phones.
The video shows how the German, accompanied by a woman, calls out one insult after the other to the Syrian, such as “Want one more, you filthy cattle”, “Start to cry you f *****, boy” or "Just piss off where you come from, you f ***** F ****".
Racist attack in Erfurt: Man repeatedly kicks Syrians in the tram
Thereupon he spat at the Syrian, who sat in silence and only tried to turn his head away.
Nevertheless, the racist continued to persevere.
With the words "Just put your head down, you bastard, when I stand in front of you, you understand that" the bat kicked the young man's head four times.
His companion next to him watched the act and only reminded him of the cameras pointing at him.
But that's not all.
After the kick attack, the thug took the cell phone from the Syrian.
With all his might he smacked it on the floor, where it splintered.
"And your f ****** cell phone, boy, is broken now, boy," he yelled.
Then he got off the track.
The Syrian did not resist for a second.
According to the police, he had minor injuries.
Using cell phone videos: Racist is being investigated for dangerous bodily harm
The other passengers then called the police.
Despite the man's escape, the police succeeded in identifying the perpetrator “through the evidence obtained at the scene of the crime”.
This was already known to the Erfurt police for several offenses.
On Monday afternoon (April 26), the Erfurt civil police arrested the 40-year-old.
He is being investigated for dangerous bodily harm, coercion and insult.
Since several witnesses posted the video recordings online, they quickly spread on social media.
Thuringia's Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (left) described the act as “simply disgusting”.
“Such a cowardly person, strong and aggressive against a defenseless person”.
The attack also criticized the CDU parliamentary group “in the strongest”.
Politicians call for more moral courage and a "penal norm against racism"
Barbara John (CDU) wondered why the other passengers had not intervened, apart from filming.
The chairman of the board of the Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband Berlin made it clear: "People have to act and intervene at such moments when a perpetrator does not have a weapon", says John according to the
picture
.
Although there were other men on the tram, there were still too many inhibitions.
She also called for a higher sentence for racist attacks: "Confessions alone are of no use." In Germany, a "penal norm against racism" is necessary.
And John added: "Switzerland has had it for 20 years."
Catholic Church is shaken and warns against discriminatory statements
The Catholic Church also found clear words about the deed: The Erfurt Bishop Ulrich Neymeyr said on the portal
kathisch.de
: “It shakes me when people with a different skin color, a different origin, a different religion or a different sexual orientation are attacked because they are Are 'different' ”.
According to the bishop, it should be noted that all people are equal.
He already warned against discriminatory statements, because “words quickly become deeds.
For believers, everyone is a creature of God and therefore a fellow creature, ”said Neymeyr.
Racist attacks in Thuringia remain consistently high
The state of Thuringia, especially the state capital Erfurt, has a fundamental problem with right-wing terror, explained Katharina König-Preuss (Left).
The spokeswoman for anti-racism of the left-wing parliamentary group in the state parliament said: "The increasing racist attacks in Thuringia, which are also the result of a political climate in society fueled in particular by the AfD, must finally be stopped."
The perpetrators must be "dealt with with all consistency," said König-Preuss.
She also drew attention to recently published statistics from victim counseling Ezra.
This states that in 2020, with 102 racist incidents, the level of right-wing violence will remain constant.