GERMAN officials have launched an investigation into why no arrests were made after a series of ‘monstrous’ attacks on women by gangs of more than 1000 men in the city of Cologne on New Year’s Eve.
The BBC, CNN and the New York Times have reported that police failed to arrest any men, despite dozens of women complaining that they had been grabbed, touched, surrounded and threatened by gangs of men in the cathedral square during a night of New Year celebrations.
CNN quotes one woman saying: “The men surrounded us and started to grab our behinds and touch our crotches. They touched us everywhere.”
The New York Times says groups of men surrounded women near the city’s main train station and groped them while others made off with their belongings.
The Times says 90 women complained, but no arrests were made.
The BBC says the attacks ‘appear to have been organised, with large groups of men arriving together.’
Reports suggest many were of Arab or North African appearance.
There’s growing suggestions police did not want to inflame anti-refugee feelings.
“What is particularly disturbing is that the attacks appear to have been organised,” writes the BBC.
“Around 1,000 young men arrived in large groups, seemingly with the specific intention of carrying out attacks on women.
“Police in Hamburg are now reporting similar incidents on New Year’s Eve in the party area of St Pauli. One politician says this is just the tip of the iceberg.
“And there are real concerns about what will happen in February when the drunken street-parties of carnival season kick off.”
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