Germany shocked by Cologne New Year gang assaults on women

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**Redcruisair**

String of New Year's Eve sexual assaults outrages Cologne

Some 1,000 men are alleged to have carried out dozens of sexual crimes on New Year's Eve in the city of Cologne. That these crimes occured in the city's most famous square has left local authorities reeling.

Police in the western German city of Cologne responded on Monday to outrage over a string of sexual crimes over New Year's Eve. According to police, the series of assaults in one of the city's busiest thoroughfares represented a "completely new dimension of crime."

Some 90 criminal complaints, including one allegation of rape, have been brought to the Cologne police department after women said they were molested by a crowd of men who had gathered in the city's famous square between its central train station and towering Gothic cathedral. Authorities expect more victims to come forward in the next few days.

City police chief Wolfgang Albers said the crowd was composed of up to 1,000 heavily intoxicated men who gave the appearance of being "Arab or North African" in background.

The police chief told German news agency dpa that the incidents represented "an intolerable situation" for Cologne. His department has already assembled a task force to deal with the matter.

Mayor calls crisis summit

Mayor Henriette Reker, who made international headlines in October when she was stabbed on the campaign trail, has called a crisis meeting, which will include local and federal police, for Tuesday to address the crimes.

Reker told the local press she found the men's actions "monstrous."

"We cannot tolerate this development of lawlessness," Reker told the "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger" newspaper.

Speaking with local newspaper "Express," Ralf Jäger, the state interior minister for North Rhine-Westphalia, promised swift action.

"We will not accept that groups of North African men gather expressly for the purpose of debasing women by sexually assaulting them," the paper quoted Jäger as saying.

'Politically uncomfortable' consequences

The leader of the North Rhine-Westphalia branch of Germany's main police union, Arnold Plickert, called the crimes "a massive attack on basic rights" and said justice must be seen through even if it has "politically uncomfortable" consequences.

Plickert warned, however, against exploiting the incident to stir up anti-refugee sentiment.

"Any refugees who have a problem integrating into our open society and respecting the rights of other people" must be dealt with using the "full force of the law," he said, though adding that the public should not forget that "the great majority of the people who have come to us have done so because their lives are no longer safe in their homelands."

Source: http://www.dw.com/en/string-of-new-years-eve-sexual-assaults-outrages-cologne/a-18958334
Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35231046?post_id=960570347347126_960570760680418

I'm left fething utterly speechless after reading all of this. I haven't been this upset since last year's terrorist attacks in Paris. Disgusting.

**Da Boss**

It's absolutely shocking.

Cologne police need to get their act together, and local (and national) politicians should fund them properly, too.

I hope every one of the perpetrators is arrested and deported, but I doubt many will be at all.

Absolutely disgusting.

**Frazzled**

This is what happens when you import hundreds of thousands of men of fighting age into a completely different country. How's that working out for you Germany?

**Kilkrazy**

Has this happened anywhere else apart from Cologne?

**Redcruisair**

Unfortunately, yes. Women were also targeted in Hamburg and Stuttgart in similar attacks, but thankfully on a much smaller scale.

**Frazzled**

I've heard of similar things in Perfume, but the events in Bodyspray turned out to be a hoax.

**Crazy_Carnifex**

Plickert warned, however, against exploiting the incident to stir up anti-refugee sentiment.

Because mass sexual assault by migrants is a bad reason to be anti-immigration.

**Da Boss**

The evidence points to the majority of perpetrators being of Tunisian, Moroccan and Algerian extraction, not linked to the current wave of migration from Syria.

Though I wouldn't find it unbelievable that there were also Syrians and Turkish Germans in there as well.

I don't expect that to stop schadenfreude from xenophobic anti immigrant people though.

**Frazzled**

Why should it?

**d-usa**

Frazzled wrote:
Why should it?

Because it's not your fault that a militia is occupying a federal building?

**Frazzled**

d-usa wrote:
Frazzled wrote:
Why should it?

Because it's not your fault that a militia is occupying a federal building?

Ancient Buddha say: WRONGEY EL THREADO!

**Dreadclaw69**

The Mayor of Cologne has called for the women to have a code of conduct to prevent future attacks

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/mayor-of-cologne-says-women-should-have-code-of-conduct-to-prevent-future-assault-a6798186.html

The Mayor of Cologne said today that women should adopt a “code of conduct” to prevent future assault at a crisis meeting following the sexual attack of women by 1000 men on New Year’s eve.

Mayor Henriette Reker attended an emergency meeting with Chief of Police Wolfgang Albers and Wolfgang Wurm to discuss how to deal with the attack, where dozens of women were repeatedly touched and groped, with one case of alleged rape in the center of town.

“It is important to prevent such incidents from ever happening again,” said Mayor Reker, as reported in German by RP Online. “We have heard by now that they [the attacks] have occurred in other cities. This of course is not comforting to us.”

Hamburg also received complaints of sexual assault.

The crisis management team said prevention measures should include a code of conduct for young women and girls, and Mayor Reker said the existing code of conduct will be updated online.

The suggested code of conduct includes maintaining an arm’s length distance from strangers, to stick within your own group, to ask bystanders for help or to intervene as a witness, or to inform the police if you are the victim of such an assault.

In anticipation of large carnivals in the city centre in February, Mayor Reker promised an increased police presence. She warned young women about potential dangers of drunken events.

People expressed frustration at the focus on the victims rather than the perpetrators.

Mayor Reker also said a “better explanation” to asylum seekers was needed about the meaning of the annual carnivals.

“We need to prevent confusion about what constitutes happy behaviour and what is utterly separate from openness, especially in sexual behaviour," she said.

The attackers were described as North African and Arab appearance by the police. The Mayor has said that not all of the attackers were newly-arrived refugees and had already been known to the police, as reported by The Local.

Mayor Reker was seriously wounded herself in October when she was stabbed in the neck by a man who reportedly had anti-foreigner motives amid in escalating tensions about the refugee crisis.

**Asherian Command**

Jesus. That is terrible.

Hopefully the predators are arrested or deported.

**DarkTraveler777**

Dreadclaw69 wrote:
The Mayor of Cologne has called for the women to have a code of conduct to prevent future attacks

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/mayor-of-cologne-says-women-should-have-code-of-conduct-to-prevent-future-assault-a6798186.html

The Mayor of Cologne said today that women should adopt a “code of conduct” to prevent future assault at a crisis meeting following the sexual attack of women by 1000 men on New Year’s eve.

Mayor Henriette Reker attended an emergency meeting with Chief of Police Wolfgang Albers and Wolfgang Wurm to discuss how to deal with the attack, where dozens of women were repeatedly touched and groped, with one case of alleged rape in the center of town.

“It is important to prevent such incidents from ever happening again,” said Mayor Reker, as reported in German by RP Online. “We have heard by now that they [the attacks] have occurred in other cities. This of course is not comforting to us.”

Hamburg also received complaints of sexual assault.

The crisis management team said prevention measures should include a code of conduct for young women and girls, and Mayor Reker said the existing code of conduct will be updated online.

The suggested code of conduct includes maintaining an arm’s length distance from strangers, to stick within your own group, to ask bystanders for help or to intervene as a witness, or to inform the police if you are the victim of such an assault.

In anticipation of large carnivals in the city centre in February, Mayor Reker promised an increased police presence. She warned young women about potential dangers of drunken events.

People expressed frustration at the focus on the victims rather than the perpetrators.

Mayor Reker also said a “better explanation” to asylum seekers was needed about the meaning of the annual carnivals.

“We need to prevent confusion about what constitutes happy behaviour and what is utterly separate from openness, especially in sexual behaviour," she said.

The attackers were described as North African and Arab appearance by the police. The Mayor has said that not all of the attackers were newly-arrived refugees and had already been known to the police, as reported by The Local.

Mayor Reker was seriously wounded herself in October when she was stabbed in the neck by a man who reportedly had anti-foreigner motives amid in escalating tensions about the refugee crisis.

The article mentions Mayor Reker updating the previous code of conduct for women in Cologne, does anyone know what the older code was? Or was the updated code a general code of conduct and these rules for women are being added?

Honestly, what Mayor Reker proposes isn't bad, per se, but following up those attacks with a call for women to conduct themselves differently seems like a pretty heavy dollop of Blaming the Victim.

**BobtheInquisitor**

Reminds me of the Wilding in New York.

**1hadhq**

Da Boss wrote:
The evidence points to the majority of perpetrators being of Tunisian, Moroccan and Algerian extraction, not linked to the current wave of migration from Syria.

Though I wouldn't find it unbelievable that there were also Syrians and Turkish Germans in there as well.

I don't expect that to stop schadenfreude from xenophobic anti immigrant people though.

Schadenfreude?

A dispelled Illusion IMHO.

It is important how they handle this. If they can't get some of the perpetrators and/or nothing happens to them, there will be more than just unhappyness.
Cologne and Düsseldorf amongst others have to be careful with the upcoming carnivals and the hundred of thousands of people participating.

I don't think this happend unorganized, because too many involved at more than one place.

**Relapse**

How the hell are you supposed to stay at arm's length in a city wide party?

**stanman**

An armed society is generally a polite society. Take away the ability to defend oneself and you get chaos.

**thenoobbomb**

Frazzled wrote:
Why should it?

Because (shock and horror, I know!) not all immigrants with a slightly brown skin tone are all rapists, or all the same for that matter?

There's a big chance that these people are people that were born in Germany, and it's almost certainly organized. I'm really not sure why so many people seem to think that all immigrants are evil creatures that come here to bomb, rape, and murder us - isn't that what they fled from? I'm not for allowing them all in - countries simply can't handle that - but demonizing all immigrants is just as silly as demonizing all white, anti-social nerds as school shooters.

**Frazzled**

“We need to prevent confusion about what constitutes happy behaviour and what is utterly separate from openness, especially in sexual behaviour," she said.

Seriously they need training on how not to be vermin? How about: "Do these things and the police will beat you to death with sticks."

**godardc**

When will Europe wake up and protect itself ?
If our politically correct and stupid, disconnected from the world, leaders keep doing...nothing, something bad is gonna happen.
In Corse, a "district" of France, where firefighters have been attacked, embushed, hundreds of people gathered and went in the ghetto, destroyed a mosquee, occupying the no-go zone, with slogans like "arabs keep out !" etc.
Pegida isn't new, and events like this one can only push Europe closer to what happened in Corse.

Germany, you just have been culturally enriched.

**Frazzled**

thenoobbomb wrote:
Frazzled wrote:
Why should it?

Because (shock and horror, I know!) not all immigrants with a slightly brown skin tone are all rapists, or all the same for that matter?

If the foreigners hadn't been let in, those incidents would not have occurred. Its an absolute zero sum statement.
Sure, immigrants are not the same, but immigrants did it.

**godardc**

"north Africans" don't come from Germany, in deed ^^
They, or their parents, are immigrants.
And they will forever be.
As their children and grandchildren. Proof just has been made, again, that a north african can never been made, never, in an European.

**Kojiro**

thenoobbomb wrote:

Because (shock and horror, I know!) not all immigrants with a slightly brown skin tone are all rapists, or all the same for that matter?

Come now, I've been told repeatedly by some group that all men are potential rapists- why exclude the brown coloured ones from the fearmongering?

**-Shrike-**

stanman wrote:
An armed society is generally a polite society. Take away the ability to defend oneself and you get chaos.

Spoiler:

Disgusting situation, I hope they apprehend those involved and bring them to justice. Interesting that this appears to be a coherent event across several cities, that implies a high level of organisation.

**Da Boss**

Those foreigners are fleeing a genocidal war in a region destabilised by our friendly neighbourhood world police.

This idea of foreigners being "let in" is ridiculous. It's a massive human wave which can only be compared to the end of WW2.

To be clear though - the perpetrators are scum, women absolutely do not need to change their behaviour and anyone they can catch should be arrested or deported. This incident makes me extremely angry and I hope to feth it's taken seriously here. There's a terrible tendency to shy away from issues like this in Germany out of a misplaced sense of liberalism, and now is not the time for that. It's not the time for reactionary actions against refugees either.

**Frazzled**

Kojiro wrote:
thenoobbomb wrote:

Because (shock and horror, I know!) not all immigrants with a slightly brown skin tone are all rapists, or all the same for that matter?
Come now, I've been told repeatedly by some group that all men are potential rapists- why exclude the brown coloured ones from the fearmongering?

Indeed. And thats why my wife has a handgun bigger than Dog and the GC carries pepper spray (and a magical Phone of Summoning ANGRY DAD).

**thenoobbomb**

Frazzled wrote:
thenoobbomb wrote:
Frazzled wrote:
Why should it?

Because (shock and horror, I know!) not all immigrants with a slightly brown skin tone are all rapists, or all the same for that matter?

If the foreigners hadn't been let in, those incidents would not have occurred. Its an absolute zero sum statement.
Sure, immigrants are not the same, but immigrants did it.

"North African descent" does not mean that they were born there.

Crime in the USA is also frequently committed by immigrants. Shouldn't have let those in either, and have left it all to the Native Americans, right?

I believe that this is the work of an organization intent on creating more and more hate for Muslims, hoping that this'll lead to young Muslims feeling excluded from society and as a result leading to radicalization.

**godardc**

I don't think there is an organization.
It just hundreds of "guys" spread across the county, who, being in the same situation (new year, alcohol, pretty girls, and of course, hating laws and the West) did the same thing.

**Ashiraya**

stanman wrote:
An armed society is generally a polite society. Take away the ability to defend oneself and you get chaos.

Because the fear of gun violence is the best way to get people to be polite?