J. S. * (24) and his gay friend (19) wanted to go out on New Year’s Eve to really celebrate the new year. At around 2:00 a.m., the two had a drink outside near the gay club “Heaven” in Zurich’s Niederdorf.
According to J. S., there was a homophobic motivated attack. «Suddenly four guys came up to us. They asked us if we were gay, ”says S. to 20 minutes. He answered in the affirmative, whereupon they suddenly poured the drink into his face. Then everything went very quickly: «They hit me and my friend. When we were lying on the floor, they kicked us. “They managed to run away – despite the pain. The attackers had followed her and continued to strike. “In the end, they let go of us and attacked other gays,” says S.
Nobody helped
They then alerted the police and drove the ambulance to the university hospital in an emergency. «I was afraid that my nose was broken because I was bleeding heavily. Fortunately, that’s not the case. »But his lip was swollen and he had severe neck pain because of the kicks. His friend had a laceration under the eye and back pain.
“We imagined the beginning of the new year differently,” says S. They were on the emergency until around 6:30 a.m. According to the 24-year-old, the two filed a complaint directly after the attack. “Today we were still at the police station and made a long statement.”
S. estimates that the attackers were around 20 years old. You would have spoken German with a foreign accent. No one intervened from the surrounding people: “They were probably afraid because I was already covered in blood.”
«Can’t get out without fear»
In mid-September two gays were beaten by five men at the same location. Even after the Gay Pride in Zurich last June, there was one Attack on a gay couple. This is a big topic in the scene, says S. «It’s gross. We can no longer go out without being afraid of being attacked. ”He and his friend are regularly mobbed and spat at when they are out together. But he had never experienced such a brutal attack.
The Zurich city police confirmed that on January 1, shortly after two o’clock, she was called to Zähringerplatz. Two men were injured in an assault. Immediately afterwards, a man, presumably by the same group, had his bag stolen in Zähringerplatz after he was assaulted. The perpetrators were able to escape. “Investigations in this case are currently being carried out by detectives from the Zurich city police,” says spokesman Michael Walker.
* Name of the editor known
(DAW)
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