Germany identifies three suspects in New Year attacks on women

German police have identified three suspects in connection with attacks on women at New Year celebrations in the city of Cologne but have not yet made any arrests, the interior minister of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) said on today. About 90 women reported being robbed, threatened or sexually molested at New Year celebrations outside the city’s cathedral.  The police chief in Cologne has said the perpetrators appeared to be of “Arab or North African” origin, prompting right-wing groups to condemn the government for its welcoming stance towards refugees fleeing war in Syria and elsewhere.

If asylum seekers or refugees carry out these kinds of attacks… it will bring their stay in Germany to an abrupt end.

Andreas Scheuer, general secretary of Merkel’s Bavarian allies, the Christian Social Union

Meanwhile, Cologne’s mayor, Henriette Reker, drew online mockery today for her advice to women on how to avoid sexual assaults by staying over “an arm’s length” away from strangers. The comment sparked anger and ridicule amid a heated debate about some took to social media to argue that abusive men, not their female victims, must change their behavior.

It is not women who are responsible, but the perpetrators.

Justice Minister Heiko Maas tweeted

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