Off the wire
• 14 militants killed in Egypt's Sinai  • 1st LD Writethru: 38 militants killed in army airstrikes in NW Pakistan  • Even small amounts of alcohol increase cancer risk: British guidelines  • Indian-controlled Kashmir jolted by mild earthquake  • Refugee, migrant deaths continue in Mediterranean since New Year: IOM  • Major news items in leading German newspapers  • Chinese police seize 470 suspects in transnational telecom fraud  • IS claims responsibility for attack on Egypt tourist hotel  • China recognizes prominent scientists, stresses innovation  • Norwegian postal plane crashes in Swedish mountains  
You are here: 　 Home

German police identify 31 suspects related to sexual assaults in Cologne

Xinhua, January 8, 2016 Adjust font size:

After scores of women reported sexual assaults and muggings by men on New Year's Eve in the western German city of Cologne, German police have identified a total of 31 suspects, most of whom were asylum seekers, German media Focus Online reported on Friday.

According to the report, the German Federal Police has detected 32 crimes on the New Year's Eve at Cologne's Central Station, with 31 suspects who have been identified by names.

Two-thirds of the identified suspects were asylum seekers, said a spokesman from the German Interior Ministry on Friday, citing a preliminary report of the German Federal Police.

These offenses are mainly about bodily injury and thefts, he said, adding that the asylum seekers were not previously associated with sexual offenses.

The number of criminal complaints filed had risen to around 200 till Thursday, German media Spiegel Online reported.

On New Year's Eve, a group of about 1,000 men have surrounded, harassed and robbed, especially women in Cologne. According to eyewitnesses and victims.

However, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere stressed on Tuesday that there should be no general suspicion towards refugees. Enditem