By Sarah Marsh
BERLIN (Reuters) – The individual detained following the stabbing of a Spanish tourist at Berlin’s Holocaust memorial was identified as a 19-year-old Syrian refugee by Berlin prosecutors. The incident occurred on Friday, a day prior to the national election, during which concerns regarding migration are anticipated to bolster the far-right AfD party. According to a statement from the prosecutors, the suspect seemed to have been plotting to target Jews for some time, potentially influenced by conflicts in the Middle East, leading him to select this particular site.
The authorities apprehended the suspect, whose hands and pants were stained with blood, shortly after the stabbing on Friday evening. Upon searching his belongings, they discovered a prayer rug, a Quran, a note containing verses from the Quran dated the previous day, and the alleged weapon in his backpack, indicating a religious motive, as per the prosecutors’ report. The Spanish tourist, aged 30, underwent urgent surgery for neck injuries and was placed in an induced coma. Thankfully, his condition is no longer life-threatening.
The ongoing campaign for Sunday’s election has been overshadowed by a string of high-profile incidents involving suspects of migrant backgrounds, diverting attention from Germany’s economic challenges and bolstering support for the Alternative for Germany party. Recent attacks, including a fatal stabbing that claimed two lives, including that of a toddler, were attributed to an Afghan immigrant. Consequently, the conservative CDU/CSU bloc broke a longstanding taboo by collaborating with the far right to pass a motion aimed at tightening migration policies with the AfD’s backing.
In a separate tragic event, a Saudi individual residing in Germany for an extended period, whose social media activity indicated sympathies with the AfD, drove a car into a Christmas market in December, resulting in six fatalities and numerous injuries. The Holocaust memorial, a poignant symbol commemorating the six million Jews who perished at the hands of Hitler’s Nazis during World War Two, holds significant historical weight and serves as a cornerstone of Germany’s commitment to acknowledging its past atrocities.
As of now, there is no evidence linking the suspect in Friday’s stabbing to any other individuals or groups, as highlighted by the prosecutors. The suspect, who entered Germany as an unaccompanied minor, had no prior criminal record in Berlin and was previously unknown to law enforcement and judicial authorities. A court appearance before an investigating judge is scheduled for Saturday for the issuance of an arrest warrant.
(Reporting by Sarah Marsh; additional reporting by Graham Keeley in Madrid; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
