In a new attack against German Muslims, a group of police officers targeted young Muslim worshippers after finishing their tarawih prayer last week, handcuffing and beating them severely. “We asked them for their names and papers, but they gave us no information,” Soufian D., one of the victims told Deutsch Türkisches Journal.
The incident dates back to last Wednesday when up to 15 Muslim youths of Turkish and Moroccan descent were subjected to excessive police force after leaving the tarawih prayer at a mosque in the city of Offenbach. The police officers who wanted to check the identification of the young Muslims acted in an aggressive manner and beat the youth after handcuffing them.
As the police had no reason to arrest the youths, they were released. However, the officers warned Muslim youth that worse things would happen in the case of informing media about the incident.
According to witness accounts, 13 police officers partook in the incident.
Umut K., who was near the scene and was worried about his younger brother, said that he had went to ask the police what was happening when he also received a beating, rather than an answer to his questions. After the incident, he filed a complaint on assault charges against the police officers. “Police were interested in escalation,” he said.
Despite police officers warnings, the Muslim youth filed a complaint against the force which attacked them. “We had no weapons with us… However, we were beaten and maltreated,” the Muslim youths said. “As Muslims, we are seen as potential criminals. We will file criminal charges and want justice,” they added.