Furnishings push the city “to its limits”
Another bloody attack in Freiburg’s refugee home – the mayor calls for deportation
Today, 08.02.2023 | 17:54
About two weeks after the violent riots in the state initial reception center (LEA) in Freiburg im Breisgau with five major police operations in just 15 hours, there is renewed trouble. The regional council responsible for the LEA tried to allay concerns about further violence. A spokeswoman for the authority told the “Badische Zeitung” on Monday that “in general” the area had now “calmed down”.
But when asked by FOCUS online, the spokeswoman confirmed on Wednesday morning that 40 other residents of the LEA had been moved to other accommodations as a “preventive measure” in the past week. Eleven troublemakers had already been taken to other shelters immediately after the riots. The renewed transfers were decided at the crisis meeting and were aimed at achieving a “more balanced composition of the residents”, as it is said.
Freiburg: Despite transfers, no “calm” has returned to the LEA
However, the most recent statement about the situation in the LEA is in stark contradiction to an incident that only happened on Monday afternoon in the refugee home. According to the police, there was a fight between two Algerian nationals at around 5:50 p.m., in which one of the two used a glass jug as a weapon and injured the opponent’s neck.
The attacker also suffered injuries and both had to be treated in a hospital. Due to the recent outbreak of violence, several police patrols were again deployed in the LEA.
A spokesman for the Freiburg police also spoke to FOCUS online just a few days after the joint crisis meeting of the regional council, public prosecutor’s office and police of further isolated violent clashes – and by no means of “rest”.
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21-year-old Tunisian in custody for several criminal offenses
In addition, FOCUS online learned from police circles that a 21-year-old Tunisian national who is accused of attempting to rape a 65-year-old homeless person is also said to be a resident of the LEA. The young suspect was arrested on February 3.
According to current knowledge, he is said to have kicked, hit and choked the victim on January 26. Due to “considerable resistance”, the attacker finally let go of the woman, who suffered “considerable bruises and abrasions” in the brutal attack.
At the request of the public prosecutor’s office in Freiburg, the 21-year-old is in custody due to other offenses, particularly in the area of property crime and resistance to law enforcement officials and an attempted dangerous bodily harm.
Fast-track procedures almost ineffective: Only one perpetrator has been sentenced to probation
Meanwhile, the so-called “accelerated procedures” against rioters among the refugees have proven to be ineffective. So far there has only been one such procedure, said Lars Petersen, judge and spokesman at the Freiburg District Court, FOCUS online at the end of last week on request.
In the case, a 28-year-old LEA resident was charged with injuring another resident with a bottle and then damaging a police car during the riot two and a half weeks ago. The court has meanwhile sentenced the accused to nine months in prison – and suspended probation because the accused was a “first offender”, according to the judges’ reasoning. Prosecutors had asked for a nine-month sentence without probation.
Even the SPD mayor is calling for deportation instead of imprisonment
The mayor of Freiburg, Ulrich von Kirchbach (SPD), was remarkably critical of the probation sentence and the two new cases of violence by refugees. “It cannot be that in Germany, as happened recently in Freiburg, nursing staff who do important things for our country are deported in a nonsensical way because of formalities, just to increase the deportation rate, while criminals can simply stay here,” explained the SPD Politicians on request FOCUS online.
And further: “In Freiburg, the vast majority of the population supports the reception of and help for refugees. We have to be careful not to jeopardize this willingness by drawing boundaries that are too vague.”
The fact that just one week after the probation sentence another refugee in the LEA attacked a person with a glass weapon and allegedly raped another homeless woman increases the pressure on the court in new criminal proceedings.
Freiburg’s Mayor Kirchbach: “In my opinion, the courts should draw the boundaries very clearly. It is also important that the courts react quickly to the deeds. I think it would be much more effective not to send criminals of a certain severity or repeat offenders to prison in the first place, but to deport them to their countries of origin as quickly as possible, as far as this is legally possible.
The causes of the riots are still unclear
On the penultimate weekend in January, there were several riots in the state initial reception facility, which is currently inhabited by almost 650 people. Some people attacked each other with sticks, knives and other objects. The residents of the accommodation come from around 30 countries. The capacity of the LEA is 1200 people.
It was the first case of this series of violence that was heard in court on January 30. The causes of this escalation are still not clear. The accused was the only one of the suspects who had been arrested after the incidents. An accelerated arrest warrant can only be issued if the main hearing is expected within a week of the arrest.
