Shortly after midnight, a 49-year-old mother in Eppstein was about to drive off when a stranger yanked open the driver’s door and, according to her account, would not leave her alone until she got out of the car and screamed for help. Her 26-year-old son came to her aid. According to the family, he was struck on the head with a mobile phone, bitten and kicked in the face until three young men finally managed to wrestle the attacker to the ground. The medical report, which the magazine GLUT was able to view, mentions a traumatic brain injury and several bite wounds, and the son’s cheek had to be stitched up.
The attacker is a 28-year-old Syrian, as the police have since confirmed. Both the mother and son have reported, independently of one another, that he shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the attack. In the police press release, it all sounds surprisingly innocuous: It refers to a “verbal altercation”, after which the man “suddenly” struck out, whilst there is no mention whatsoever of bites, head injuries or religious shouts. Whether the man is in custody or in a hospital, what his immigration status is, and whether a religious motive is being investigated – there is still no answer to these questions. The Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office states that the case has not yet been referred to them.
This woman has lived in Eppstein for 29 years and, in her own words, now feels afraid in her own town. Two weeks on, her son has still not received a summons to appear as a witness. When a bloody attack is referred to in official language as an ‘altercation’ and the victims are left waiting for answers whilst the authorities remain silent, people lose faith in a state that is supposed to protect them.
We demand a full investigation into who this man is, how he entered the country and why the public has not been told what really happened that night. Anyone who seeks protection here and attacks people in the street has forfeited their right to hospitality and must leave Germany.