Even in cases where a suspect is actively wanted for rape, the German police will often wait months to release a photo, as a recent case in Berlin illustrates.
Berlin police have waited eight months after an attempted rape in Humboldthain public park, with the man targeting a woman on March 31 at 8:30 a.m.
The man met the female victim on public transport, at which time both of them got off at Gesundbrunnsen S-bahn station and walked together to the Humboldthain public park.
At that location, the suspect “brought the woman to the ground and tried to perform sexual acts on her against her will,” according to the Berlin police. Due to the woman’s resistance, she managed to break free and escape, reports Berliner Zeitung.
She described the man as 28 years old, with a slim build, and only speaking Turkish. She noted that he did not speak German.
Police are still looking for the suspect and have only now decided to release a photo of him.
In another case, a Black male suspect only had his photo released 11 months after he attempted to rape a woman in Darmstadt, Hesse. Police noted at the time that he may have changed his appearance since the photo was taken.
Even in cases where a suspect is outright convicted for murder, the German media tends to censor photos of the convicted person. Many of the most outrageous stories feature foreign criminals, a fact supported by crime data in the country. A story Remix News ran this week featured 24-year-old Syrian man, Hamza A., who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of 17-year-old Malak in Menden, Germany. The German media refused to show photos of the suspect despite his conviction.
While the media and police claim it is to protect the identity of these criminals, this does not stop the same media from publicly targeting private individuals when the politics of the case suit them. The famous video of German youths singing “Auslander raus” (Foreigners out) on the island of Sylt was released without any censorship for the entire nation to watch and criticize. Notably, none of the young people in the video, who faced severe public and career repercussions, were convicted of any crime.
