The alleged cover-up spearheaded by the Cologne police after the sexual assault attacks on New Year’s Eve has gotten even deeper.
Internal communication from the police from the days immediately following the attack, published late Thursday night by newspaper Welt am Sonntag, reveals that the police had identified 71 of the around 1,000 attackers by Jan. 2 — most of whom were recently arrived Syrian refugees. Acting on this information, police had made 11 arrests, but chief Wolfgang Albers allegedly covered it all up because it was “politically awkward.”
“We currently have no intelligence on the criminals,” Albers said Jan. 4. “The only thing we know is that they were between 18-35 years old of North African or Arab appearance.”
The emails apparently show Albers was well aware of the fact that most of the attackers were in Germany under refugee status. (RELATED: Germany’s Largest Broadcaster Apologizes For Not Reporting Sexual Assault Attacks)
“Only a small minority were North Africans, the majority of the checked perpetrators were Syrians,” the documents reveal.
Albers also said the attacks were more in the nature of robberies rather than sexual assaults. A police officer told WamS, under condition of anonymity, that a majority of the attackers were after “sexual amusement.” (RELATED: Eyewitness Describes ‘Civil War Like’ Sex Assault Situation in Germany [VIDEO])
“What actually happened was the exact opposite,” the officer said. “For the mostly Arabic offenders, sexual assault was the priority, or, to express it from their point of view, their sexual amusement was the priority. A group of men would circle a female victim, close the loop, and then start groping the woman.”
Ernst Walter, deputy chief of the trade union for police employees, is now questioning if Albers can keep his job.
“I’m asking myself this,” Walter said Thursday. “How could the police publish a message on Jan. 1, saying that New Year’s celebrations had been peaceful?”
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