18 Asylum-Seekers Linked to Crimes in Cologne at New Year
- 8 years ago
German police have identified 18 asylum-seekers among 31 suspects in connection with robberies and assaults committed in Cologne at New Year, officials said Friday.
They were detained by federal police on suspicion of committing crimes ranging from theft to assault, and in one case verbal abuse of a sexual nature, Interior Ministry spokesman Tobias Plate told reporters in Berlin.
Police said the attacks on women were committed by small groups of men who were among some 1,000 people described as being of "Arab or North African origin" that had mingled with revelers in front of Cologne's main train station and gothic cathedral.
The incident has triggered calls for tighter immigration laws, particularly from politicians opposed to Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door policy that allowed nearly 1.1 million refugees to enter the country last year.
They were detained by federal police on suspicion of committing crimes ranging from theft to assault, and in one case verbal abuse of a sexual nature, Interior Ministry spokesman Tobias Plate told reporters in Berlin.
Police said the attacks on women were committed by small groups of men who were among some 1,000 people described as being of "Arab or North African origin" that had mingled with revelers in front of Cologne's main train station and gothic cathedral.
The incident has triggered calls for tighter immigration laws, particularly from politicians opposed to Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door policy that allowed nearly 1.1 million refugees to enter the country last year.