Merkel's Knowledge Of Cologne Sex Attacks: What Did She Know?

On New Year's Eve, gangs of men sexually assaulted and stole from women in Cologne, Germany, prompting 90 criminal complaints to the police. The attacks, carried out by men of North African and Arab appearance, shocked the country and sparked a debate about the integration and immigration policies of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel expressed her outrage over the attacks, calling them disgusting and proposing tougher migrant laws to make it easier to deport asylum seekers who commit crimes. While there was no official confirmation that refugees and asylum seekers were involved, the incident drew criticism of Merkel's open-door migrant policy and led to clashes between anti-immigrant and left-wing groups in the city.

Merkel's outrage and proposed tougher migrant laws

German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed outrage over the mass sexual assaults committed by gangs of men in Cologne on New Year's Eve. The attacks, perpetrated by around 1,000 young men, many of whom were reportedly drunk and of Arab or North African appearance, resulted in 90 criminal complaints to the police. Merkel conveyed her disgust over the attacks and sexual assaults to Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker, emphasizing her determination to find and punish the perpetrators regardless of their origin or background.

In the aftermath of the assaults, Merkel proposed tougher migrant laws, suggesting changes to facilitate the deportation of asylum seekers who commit crimes. The New Year's Eve attacks in Cologne, along with similar incidents in Hamburg and Stuttgart, have brought Merkel's open-door migrant policy under intense scrutiny. The police's handling of the situation has also drawn sharp criticism, with the chief of police for North Rhine-Westphalia being suspended due to allegations of withholding information about the attacks and the suspects.

Merkel's proposed changes aim to tighten the law on denying asylum for those who commit crimes, including those on probation. Under current German laws, asylum seekers are only forcibly deported if they have been sentenced to at least three years of imprisonment and their lives are not at risk in their home countries. Merkel's proposed changes, which require parliamentary approval, reflect her commitment to addressing the concerns of an increasingly anxious German public.

The attacks have sparked widespread outrage and prompted debates about integration and immigration policies. While anti-immigration campaigners have seized on the incident as evidence of the failure of the country's asylum policies, established Islamic groups express fears that the actions of a few could jeopardize the future of many. The Cologne attacks have highlighted the challenges faced by Germany in integrating a large number of refugees and migrants into their society and navigating the tensions between tolerance and safety.

Police handling of the events

The police handling of the events in Cologne on New Year's Eve has been sharply criticised.

On the night of the attacks, between 22:00 and 05:00, the Cologne police took 11 people into custody and arrested another four, in relation to various offences. One policeman stated he had detained eight suspects for various offences that night, all asylum seekers.

However, the police were not able to take all offenders into custody. The police chief, Wolfgang Albers, stated that the evacuation of the forecourt and steps of the cathedral and the plaza was "less than effective". He also said that the evacuation was undertaken with a force of 213 police officers, though this was later corrected to 150.

There are conflicting reports about when the police first heard about the attacks. One high-ranking officer reported that at around 22:00, passers-by informed police officers about fights, robberies, and sexual assaults taking place. However, the New York Times and German newspaper Die Welt suggested that the police only heard about the assaults after midnight.

The police have said that criminal complaints only came in gradually. On the night itself, there were only three emergency calls, and 19 criminal complaints were registered with the federal police inside the train station.

On 1 January, the Cologne police announced that the night had been "mostly peaceful". However, later that day, the large local newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger reported on sexual harassment in the New Year's Eve. The Cologne tabloid Express also reported on the incidents.

On 2 January, the Cologne police reported the harassment incidents in a new press release, stating that there had been nearly 30 criminal notifications of attacks and robberies on women, and in some cases, indecent touching of women by groups of men with a "North African appearance".

On 4 January, the police chief, Wolfgang Albers, stated that "a very large number of sexual assaults" had been committed by groups of young men "with an appearance largely from the North African or Arab world".

The police have been criticised for not requesting police reinforcements, which were reportedly on standby. The North Rhine-Westphalian Minister-President Kraft and the North Rhine-Westphalian Interior Minister Jäger criticised the police for this.

On 5 January, the German Justice Minister, Heiko Maas, declared that the assaults were a "completely new dimension of organised criminality".

On 8 January, the German federal police knew the names of 31 suspects of various offences on New Year's Eve nationwide, but none of them were suspected of sexual offences. By 11 January, the number of identified suspects of various crimes in Cologne had risen to 23.

On 15 January, the total number of complaints was 676, with 347 including sexual offences. By 21 January, the total number of complaints was 821, with 359 including sexual offences.

On 27 January, the Cologne police placed restraining orders on some of the New Year's Eve suspects for the area of Cologne's old town, cathedral, and central train station, during the Carnival celebrations.

By 6 April, the Cologne police had traced 153 suspects in relation to various offences on New Year's Eve; 149 of them were foreigners, with 103 of this group from Morocco or Algeria.

In July 2016, the Bundeskriminalamt (German Federal Criminal Police) noted that nationwide, judicial proceedings against 120 suspects of sexual violence from New Year's Eve had been instituted.

By November 2016, most of the suspects of various offences on New Year's Eve in Germany had not been identified.

Clashes at an anti-immigrant protest

On the evening of 31 December, gangs of men sexually assaulted and stole from women in the area around Cologne's central station, prompting 90 criminal complaints to the police. The perpetrators were described as men of North African and Arab appearance, and the attacks were soon linked to the recent influx of refugees and migrants into Germany. This link was disputed by some, including Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker, who said it was “completely improper” to associate the attackers with refugees.

The attacks sparked outrage in Germany and led to a hardening of attitudes towards Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door migrant policy. In the wake of the incident, there were clashes at an anti-immigrant protest in Cologne. Police used water cannons and pepper spray to disperse protesters from the right-wing anti-immigrant Pegida movement as violence flared after a rally that condemned Merkel's policies. Bottles and firecrackers were hurled at police lines, and officers made several arrests.

The anti-immigrant protest was met with counter-protests from feminist groups and left-wing demonstrators, who spoke out against violence towards women and the scapegoating of refugees. The Pegida movement has been accused of using the attacks as a propaganda tool to stir up hatred and xenophobia.

In response to the attacks, Merkel proposed changes to make it easier to deport asylum seekers who commit crimes. She told reporters, "When crimes are committed, and people place themselves outside the law... there must be consequences." The move has been criticised by some as a knee-jerk reaction that fails to address the underlying issues of xenophobia and prejudice in Germany.

Women's protests against violence

On the 5th of January, women protested against sexism outside Cologne Cathedral following a string of sexual assaults and robberies committed by gangs of men in the area around Cologne's central station on New Year's Eve. The attacks, which were described as monstrous by the mayor, resulted in 90 criminal complaints to the police, with the number of reported cases of violence reaching 379—40% of which were cases of sexual assault.

In the aftermath of the attacks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her outrage, calling the attacks disgusting and promising to track down the perpetrators as quickly and comprehensively as possible. Merkel also proposed tougher migrant laws, suggesting changes to make it easier to deport asylum seekers who commit crimes. This sparked further protests from both anti-immigrant and feminist groups.

In Australia, thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest against gender-based violence following a sharp rise in the number of women killed, with men alleged to have been involved in their deaths. The demonstrations have been supported by politicians, with Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan stating, "We need to stop talking about women's safety and get on and tackle men's violence, that's the issue here." The protests have also sparked calls for systemic change and more appropriate language to describe the violence.

Merkel's response to the attacks

German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her outrage over the sexual assaults and thefts that male gangs committed against women in Cologne on New Year's Eve. Merkel called Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker to convey her "outrage over these disgusting attacks and sexual assaults". She added that the perpetrators must be found and punished "as quickly and comprehensively as possible", "regardless of their origin or background".

Merkel's comments came amid a broader debate in Germany about refugees and migrants, who arrived in record numbers the previous year. In response to the attacks, Merkel proposed changes to make it easier to deport asylum seekers who commit crimes. Under the new plans, those on probation could also be deported. Merkel told reporters:

> When crimes are committed, and people place themselves outside the law... there must be consequences.

In the aftermath of the attacks, there were clashes at an anti-immigrant protest in Cologne. Police used water cannons and pepper spray to disperse protesters from the right-wing anti-immigrant Pegida movement. Feminist groups also protested against violence against women in the city, and a left-wing anti-Pegida counter-demonstration took place.

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