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독일사회를 경악시킨 세밑 쾰른 집단성폭력 사건은 범죄 혐의만 무성할 뿐 입증이 어려워 당국을 곤란한 처지로 몰아넣고 있다.
포쿠스온라인은 10일 오후 4시 53분 현재(현지시간) 이 사건 피해신고가 516건으로 늘었다고 보도했다.
이날 오전까지만 해도 대중지 빌트는 피해신고 건수가 379건이고, 이 가운데 150건이 성폭력과 관련된 것이라고 전했지만 그 사이 또 급증한 것이다.
경찰은 약 350시간 분량의 녹화 영상을 증거로 삼고 용의자 30명 이상을 조사했다고 빌트는 전했다.
이 매체는 경찰이 용의자 2명을 조사하는 과정에서 “나는 너를 죽이겠다”, “나는 너를 강간하겠다”, “큰 가슴” 같은 글귀가 적힌 메모 쪽지를 발견하고, 도난된 많은 휴대전화를 난민보호시설에서 찾아냈다는 주간 슈피겔의 보도도 인용했다.
경찰은 북아프리카 출신들이나 뒤셀도르프에 근거를 둔 북아프리카계 조직을 의심하지만, 이 혐의를 특정하기에는 증거가 아직 부족한 것으로 보인다.
현재까지 빌트에 소개된 구속영장 사례도 보면 23세 모로코인이 휴대전화를, 22세 튀니지인과 18세 모로코인이 가방을 각기 훔친 혐의가 적용된 것으로 나타나는 등 주로 개별적인 것들이다.
경찰은 지난 8일 공영 WDR 방송의 보도를 통해 체포 사실이 알려진 성폭력 용의자 2명마저도 무혐의로 풀어준 바 있다.
쾰른 사건으로 큰 불신을 산 현지 경찰은 증거 부족과 초동 대응 실패로 다시 한 번 체면을 구기고 있다는 지적이 나온다.
그러자 연방범죄수사국(BKA)까지 나서서 전국상황판을 만들고 공조수사에 들어갔다고 일요신문 벨트암존탁이 보도했다.
BKA의 이번 대응은 쾰른 사건이 독일 전역을 강타한 와중에 함부르크 등 수 많은 독일 내 여타 도시들에서도 연말연시 성폭력이 잇따랐다는 신고가 쏟아졌기 때문이다.
일요신문 빌트암존탁은 이와 관련, 경찰 기밀 보고서를 인용해 몇몇 북아프리카인들이 소셜네트워크를 통해 쾰른에서 신년 이브 때 모일 것을 제안했다고 AFP 통신이 전했다.
빌트암존탁은 쾰른뿐 아니라 프랑스, 벨기에에서까지도 젊은이들이 이 제안에 응대했다고 덧붙였다.
이런 가운데 빌트는 지난 8일 밤 인터넷판에서 ‘경찰은 진실을 말하는 것을 금지당한 것인가’라는 제목의 기사에서 프랑크푸르트 한 경찰의 말을 인용해 난민 범죄에 관해 공표하지 말라는 상부의 엄격한 지침이 있었다고 보도했다.
그는 직접적인 미디어의 요청에 대해서만 응대하라는 게 지침 내용이었다고 부연했다.
또 헤센 경찰은 언론매체 보도 책임자들에게 극우세력이 난민 문제를 도구화할 수 있다고 말한 사실을 시인했고, 노르트라인베스트팔렌 경찰은 난민보호시설 안이나 주변에서 일어난 사건의 경우 네오나치의 공격에 의한 것이 아니라면 공표하지 말라는 지침이 (이번 사건과 관련없이 과거에) 었었다고 빌트는 전했다.
이 보도는 쾰른 성폭력 사건, 나아가 일반적인 난민 연루 범죄에 대한 당국의 은폐나 축소, 소극적 대응의 양상을 보여주는 또다른 정황으로 간주된다.
독일 언론은 앞서 지난 2, 4일자로 작성된 경찰 내부 보고서를 입수해 보도하면서 쾰른 사건에 대한 경찰 등 관계당국의 은폐 시도와 소극적 대응을 비판한 바 있다.
한편 앙겔라 메르켈 총리가 이끄는 기독민주당은 11일 대연정 소수당 파트너인 사회민주당과 함께 정부 차원의 대책을 논의할 것으로 보인다고 dpa 통신이 전했다.
메르켈 총리는 최근 열린 연례 정책협의회에서 범죄를 저지른 난민의 추방 요건을 완화하겠다고 말하는 등 난민 통제정책의 강화 의사를 밝혔다. (연합)
경찰은 북아프리카 출신들이나 뒤셀도르프에 근거를 둔 북아프리카계 조직을 의심하지만, 이 혐의를 특정하기에는 증거가 아직 부족한 것으로 보인다.
현재까지 빌트에 소개된 구속영장 사례도 보면 23세 모로코인이 휴대전화를, 22세 튀니지인과 18세 모로코인이 가방을 각기 훔친 혐의가 적용된 것으로 나타나는 등 주로 개별적인 것들이다.
경찰은 지난 8일 공영 WDR 방송의 보도를 통해 체포 사실이 알려진 성폭력 용의자 2명마저도 무혐의로 풀어준 바 있다.
쾰른 사건으로 큰 불신을 산 현지 경찰은 증거 부족과 초동 대응 실패로 다시 한 번 체면을 구기고 있다는 지적이 나온다.
그러자 연방범죄수사국(BKA)까지 나서서 전국상황판을 만들고 공조수사에 들어갔다고 일요신문 벨트암존탁이 보도했다.
BKA의 이번 대응은 쾰른 사건이 독일 전역을 강타한 와중에 함부르크 등 수 많은 독일 내 여타 도시들에서도 연말연시 성폭력이 잇따랐다는 신고가 쏟아졌기 때문이다.
일요신문 빌트암존탁은 이와 관련, 경찰 기밀 보고서를 인용해 몇몇 북아프리카인들이 소셜네트워크를 통해 쾰른에서 신년 이브 때 모일 것을 제안했다고 AFP 통신이 전했다.
빌트암존탁은 쾰른뿐 아니라 프랑스, 벨기에에서까지도 젊은이들이 이 제안에 응대했다고 덧붙였다.
이런 가운데 빌트는 지난 8일 밤 인터넷판에서 ‘경찰은 진실을 말하는 것을 금지당한 것인가’라는 제목의 기사에서 프랑크푸르트 한 경찰의 말을 인용해 난민 범죄에 관해 공표하지 말라는 상부의 엄격한 지침이 있었다고 보도했다.
그는 직접적인 미디어의 요청에 대해서만 응대하라는 게 지침 내용이었다고 부연했다.
또 헤센 경찰은 언론매체 보도 책임자들에게 극우세력이 난민 문제를 도구화할 수 있다고 말한 사실을 시인했고, 노르트라인베스트팔렌 경찰은 난민보호시설 안이나 주변에서 일어난 사건의 경우 네오나치의 공격에 의한 것이 아니라면 공표하지 말라는 지침이 (이번 사건과 관련없이 과거에) 었었다고 빌트는 전했다.
이 보도는 쾰른 성폭력 사건, 나아가 일반적인 난민 연루 범죄에 대한 당국의 은폐나 축소, 소극적 대응의 양상을 보여주는 또다른 정황으로 간주된다.
독일 언론은 앞서 지난 2, 4일자로 작성된 경찰 내부 보고서를 입수해 보도하면서 쾰른 사건에 대한 경찰 등 관계당국의 은폐 시도와 소극적 대응을 비판한 바 있다.
한편 앙겔라 메르켈 총리가 이끄는 기독민주당은 11일 대연정 소수당 파트너인 사회민주당과 함께 정부 차원의 대책을 논의할 것으로 보인다고 dpa 통신이 전했다.
메르켈 총리는 최근 열린 연례 정책협의회에서 범죄를 저지른 난민의 추방 요건을 완화하겠다고 말하는 등 난민 통제정책의 강화 의사를 밝혔다. (연합)
<관련 영문 기사>
Merkel under pressure as Cologne violence cases rise to 516
Cologne police on Sunday said they had now recorded over 500 cases of New Year’s Eve violence blamed on migrants, piling fresh pressure on German Chancellor Angela Merkel over her liberal stance towards refugees.
Marking a sharp jump from the caseload of 379 given on Saturday, police said some 516 complaints had now been lodged, including 40 percent that are related to sexual assault.
Witnesses described terrifying scenes of hundreds of women running a gauntlet of groping hands, lewd insults and robberies in the mob violence.
Even though no formal charges have been laid, Cologne police have said those suspected over the New Year’s rampage near the city’s railway station were mostly asylum seekers and illegal migrants from North Africa.
The scale of the Cologne assaults has shocked Germany and put a spotlight on the 1.1 million asylum seekers who arrived in the country last year.
It has also fueled fear, with a poll published by Bild am Sonntag newspaper saying that 39 percent of those surveyed felt police did not provide sufficient protection, while 57 percent did.
And just under half (49 percent) believed the same sort of mob violence could hit their hometown, reported the newspaper which headlined its article with the question: “Is the New Year Eve scandal the result of wrong policies?”
Turning away from her mantra of “we will manage this” over the record migrant influx, Merkel has been forced to change tack.
She took a tough line on Saturday, saying she backed changes to the law to make it easier to expel asylum seekers convicted of a crime.
“If the law does not suffice, then the law must be changed,” she said.
“Cologne has changed everything, people now are doubting,” said Volker Bouffier, vice president of Merkel’s CDU party.
‘Assaults were planned’
Justice Minister Heiko Maas said he believed the violence in the western city of Cologne was organised.
“For such a horde of people to meet and commit such crimes, it has to have been planned somehow,” he told Bild am Sonntag newspaper.
“No one can tell me that this was not coordinated or planned. The suspicion is that a specific date and an expected crowd was picked,” he said.
Quoting confidential police reports, Bild am Sonntag said some North Africans had sent out calls using social networks for people to gather in Cologne on New Year’s Eve.
Separately in Hamburg, police said they had received 133 criminal complaints for similar violence during the northern city’s own New Year’s Eve celebrations.
With thousands of asylum seekers streaming into Germany every day since last year, Merkel has already come under fire from critics, even within her own conservative alliance, who want her to reverse her open-door policy to war refugees.
Critics have questioned Germany’s ability to integrate the massive numbers of newcomers, many of whom hail from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Merkel had until now not wavered from her stance, even using her New Year’s address to tell Germans that the record influx was “an opportunity for tomorrow”
But after Cologne, she has adopted a harsher tone, saying also that “we must speak again about the cultural fundamentals of our co-existence”
‘Turning point?’
“It’s not premature to speak of a turning point, or at least the reinforcing of a trend that had already started to take shape lately,” Andreas Roedder, contemporary history professor at Mainz University told AFP.
Bit by bit, the government has begun to tighten up checks, including reinstating individual interviews in asylum applications for Syrians since January 1, which had earlier been waived.
And in Afghanistan, an advertising campaign is running to dissuade middle-class Afghans from coming, telling them that they should stay and rebuild their home country.
Balkan states have already been designated safe countries of origin -- a category which meant that citizens would not usually be granted asylum -- and Algeria and Morocco could soon join that list.
“After a period of open-arms policy, the time has perhaps come to change the tone. Right now the question is on expulsions, toughening the law, as what happened in Cologne really has a political dimension to it,” said Tilman Mayer, a political analyst at Bonn University, speaking to Phoenix television station.
Merkel is caught in a bind as asylum seekers are still arriving at the rate of between 3,000 and 4,000 a day, despite the harsh winter conditions.
“The situation could degenerate very quickly for Merkel within the CDU because resistance and nervousness is growing,” said Roedder. (AFP)
Merkel under pressure as Cologne violence cases rise to 516
Cologne police on Sunday said they had now recorded over 500 cases of New Year’s Eve violence blamed on migrants, piling fresh pressure on German Chancellor Angela Merkel over her liberal stance towards refugees.
Marking a sharp jump from the caseload of 379 given on Saturday, police said some 516 complaints had now been lodged, including 40 percent that are related to sexual assault.
Witnesses described terrifying scenes of hundreds of women running a gauntlet of groping hands, lewd insults and robberies in the mob violence.
Even though no formal charges have been laid, Cologne police have said those suspected over the New Year’s rampage near the city’s railway station were mostly asylum seekers and illegal migrants from North Africa.
The scale of the Cologne assaults has shocked Germany and put a spotlight on the 1.1 million asylum seekers who arrived in the country last year.
It has also fueled fear, with a poll published by Bild am Sonntag newspaper saying that 39 percent of those surveyed felt police did not provide sufficient protection, while 57 percent did.
And just under half (49 percent) believed the same sort of mob violence could hit their hometown, reported the newspaper which headlined its article with the question: “Is the New Year Eve scandal the result of wrong policies?”
Turning away from her mantra of “we will manage this” over the record migrant influx, Merkel has been forced to change tack.
She took a tough line on Saturday, saying she backed changes to the law to make it easier to expel asylum seekers convicted of a crime.
“If the law does not suffice, then the law must be changed,” she said.
“Cologne has changed everything, people now are doubting,” said Volker Bouffier, vice president of Merkel’s CDU party.
‘Assaults were planned’
Justice Minister Heiko Maas said he believed the violence in the western city of Cologne was organised.
“For such a horde of people to meet and commit such crimes, it has to have been planned somehow,” he told Bild am Sonntag newspaper.
“No one can tell me that this was not coordinated or planned. The suspicion is that a specific date and an expected crowd was picked,” he said.
Quoting confidential police reports, Bild am Sonntag said some North Africans had sent out calls using social networks for people to gather in Cologne on New Year’s Eve.
Separately in Hamburg, police said they had received 133 criminal complaints for similar violence during the northern city’s own New Year’s Eve celebrations.
With thousands of asylum seekers streaming into Germany every day since last year, Merkel has already come under fire from critics, even within her own conservative alliance, who want her to reverse her open-door policy to war refugees.
Critics have questioned Germany’s ability to integrate the massive numbers of newcomers, many of whom hail from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Merkel had until now not wavered from her stance, even using her New Year’s address to tell Germans that the record influx was “an opportunity for tomorrow”
But after Cologne, she has adopted a harsher tone, saying also that “we must speak again about the cultural fundamentals of our co-existence”
‘Turning point?’
“It’s not premature to speak of a turning point, or at least the reinforcing of a trend that had already started to take shape lately,” Andreas Roedder, contemporary history professor at Mainz University told AFP.
Bit by bit, the government has begun to tighten up checks, including reinstating individual interviews in asylum applications for Syrians since January 1, which had earlier been waived.
And in Afghanistan, an advertising campaign is running to dissuade middle-class Afghans from coming, telling them that they should stay and rebuild their home country.
Balkan states have already been designated safe countries of origin -- a category which meant that citizens would not usually be granted asylum -- and Algeria and Morocco could soon join that list.
“After a period of open-arms policy, the time has perhaps come to change the tone. Right now the question is on expulsions, toughening the law, as what happened in Cologne really has a political dimension to it,” said Tilman Mayer, a political analyst at Bonn University, speaking to Phoenix television station.
Merkel is caught in a bind as asylum seekers are still arriving at the rate of between 3,000 and 4,000 a day, despite the harsh winter conditions.
“The situation could degenerate very quickly for Merkel within the CDU because resistance and nervousness is growing,” said Roedder. (AFP)
