
Woman in custody after Hamburg mass stabbing – DW – 05/24/2025
Thorkil Rothe
05/24/2025
May 24, 2025
German police say a 39-year-old woman has been arrested following a mass stabbing at the busy central train station in the German city of Hamburg. Eighteen people were reported injured in the incident, several critically.
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Local Germany
6 hours ago
- Local Germany
Will more police in Germany be equipped with Tasers?
Germany's Interior Minister, Alexander Dobrindt (CSU), has spoken up in favour of equipping federal police with Tasers, citing an increased risk of physical violence to police officers in Germany. His comments have been welcomed by police union representatives who advocate for Tasers as a necessary protection for police officers. But the use of Tasers in law-enforcement is controversial and in some cases it has been lethal. Will police officers be issued with Tasers immediately? In an interview with t-online , Minister Dobrindt announced that a legal framework would be put in place this year, which would make it possible for federal police to carry Tasers. He also said that the federal government would provide the funding. 'We will do everything we can to ensure that our federal police officers can respond appropriately in any situation in the future,' he said. According to reporting by , many police officers in Germany already carry Tasers. Originally reserved for the exclusive use of special police units (SEKs) and customs officials, the devices have been introduced for patrol duty in Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg, Bavaria, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen, and Saarland in recent years. Advertisement Since 2023, pilot projects have also been underway in Berlin, Hamburg, Hesse, and with the federal police. Do German police need more protection? Minister Dobrindt's comments come against the backdrop of an increase in attacks on police officers, especially with knives. According to a report published by the BKA (Germany's Federal Criminal Police,) a total of 46,218 violent crimes against police officers were recorded in 2023 – an increase of 8 percent on the previous year and the sharpest recorded rise since 2017. A total of 105,708 police officers were threatened or attacked in Germany in 2023. "We must better protect our police officers," Dobrindt said according to media reports. "The Taser closes a dangerous gap between batons and service weapons," Who supports the use of Tasers? Representatives of the police have spoken out in favour of the plan. Andreas Roßkopf, chairman of the Germany's largest police union ( Gewerkschaft Polizei ) told the Rheinische Post that Tasers have a de-escalating effect. 'The tests show that even the threat of using them often calms heated situations,' Roßkopf said. Marcus Haider, a district chairman for another major German police union ( Deutsche Polizeigewerkschaft) described the advantages of Tasers over batons or firearms in a recent article . He noted that batons can only be used at a very close range, which puts officers at risk of injury. On the other hand, the use of firearms can often have lethal consequences. Police statistics show that Tasers are often fired at people suffering from mental health problems. According to the BKA report, roughly 20 percent of people shot by the police with Tasers in Germany in 2023 were subsequently transported to psychiatric institutions. READ ALSO: Germany mass stabbing suspect has 'psychological illness', police say What are the problems with Taser use? The interior minister's comments have drawn criticism from the Social Democrats (SPD), who are currently in the federal coalition with Dobrindt's CDU party. Advertisement Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Daniela Behrens (SPD) told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that arming the police further was not necessarily the best solution to tackling social problems. Members of the Left party have also raised concerns. 'This is not a measure to de-escalate the situation, but another step toward arming the police,' said Clara Bünger of the Left party. She also highlighted their potential risks adding, 'If the manufacturer's test subjects have to sign liability waivers due to possible fatal consequences, then we should ask ourselves whether such a device really belongs in the hands of police forces.' Despite police unions' advocacy of Tasers as a less-lethal alterative to firearms, their use has led to fatalities in Germany and elsewhere. According to the human rights organization Amnesty International, there have been at least ten deaths in Germany since 2021 in connection with the use of Tasers. Tasers fire two wire-connected darts from a short distance. Designed to deliver a strong electric pulse when they hit the skin, causing complete paralysis of the muscles for a few seconds, their use can have serious health consequences if used against people with heart diseases or cardiovascular problems. READ ALSO: German police under scrutiny following the killing of a young black man


DW
2 days ago
- DW
Passau ramming suspect charged with attempted manslaughter – DW – 06/08/2025
A German judge has issued an arrest warrant for the man who drove into a crowd of people, injuring his wife and young daughter, along with several others. The Iraqi national suspected of driving his car into a crowd of people in Passau, southern Germany, will face charges of attempted manslaughter, police said on Sunday. The incident on Saturday evening left five people injured, including the man's wife and 5-year-old daughter. Initial findings, according to the police, indicate that the 48-year-old and his wife may have been engaged in a custody dispute. The man and his wife are separated, the police said. A magistrate has now issued an arrest warrant for the man, and the suspect has been transferred to a correctional facility. Police said three of the injured, including the daughter, have already been released from the hospital. The man's 40-year-old wife and a 39-year-old woman are still receiving treatment, but their lives are not thought to be in danger. This breaking news story will be updated shortly. Edited by: Nik Martin


DW
4 days ago
- DW
German activist Maja T. goes on hunger strike in Hungary – DW – 06/06/2025
German anti-fascist activist Maja T., has been held in isolation in a Hungarian prison for one year now. The case highlights the state of the rule of law in Victor Orban's Hungary. "I can no longer endure the prison conditions in Hungary. My cell was under round-the-clock video surveillance for over three months. I always had to wear handcuffs outside my cell for over seven months," reads Maja T.'s statement. The non-binary German activist went on a hunger strike on June 5. "Non-binary" refers to individuals who identify as neither exclusively female nor male. People like Maja T.* generally have a hard time in Hungary, although it is a member state of the European Union (EU), which has anti-discrimination provisions. In 2021, Hungary first made legislative amendments to multiple laws, targeting LGBTQ+ individuals. In early 2025, under Viktor Orban's authoritarian rule, Hungary passed a law that can be used to ban Pride and similar events. At the start of the trial in Budapest, Maja T. was led into the courtroom on a leash Image: Denes Erdos/AP/dpa/picture alliance No hope of a fair trial Maja T. has long given up hope of a fair criminal trial and wants to use the hunger strike to force a return to Germany. In June 2024, T. was extradited from Germany to Hungary and has been in solitary confinement in a Budapest prison ever since. The activist's trial began there on February 21. The public prosecutor's office accuses the prisoner from Jena in Germany's eastern state of Thuringia of assaulting and seriously injuring several people in Budapest in February 2023. The victims had taken part in the so-called "Day of Honor," an annual march by neo-Nazis from all over Europe. At the start of the criminal proceedings, T. was led into the courtroom in handcuffs and shackles and on a leash. The public prosecutor's office offered T. the opportunity to enter a guilty plea and accept 14 years in prison without further proceedings. However, T. declined and instead made a six-page statement with clear criticism of Hungary: "It is a state that quite openly marginalizes and separates people because of their sexuality or gender. I am accused by a European state because I am an anti-fascist." T. did not comment on the content of the charges — multiple counts of grievous bodily harm. Maja T. could now face up to 24 years in prison under Hungarian law. A sentence passed by a German court is likely to be much more lenient. Hungary amends constitution to curb LGBTQ+ rights To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Extradition to Hungary was unlawful What makes the case particularly controversial is that T.'s extradition from Germany to Hungary was unlawful. This was ruled by the Federal Constitutional Court at the end of January. It expressly referred to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (EU) and the associated ban on inhumane treatment. The court listed: Inadequate hygiene conditions, lack of access to hot water, bedbugs, poor and little food, extreme temperatures in winter and summer, poor lighting and ventilation in the cells, violence against prisoners by fellow prisoners and prison staff, and rule of law deficits. The Berlin Court of Appeal is responsible for the unlawful extradition. The Constitutional Court accuses the appeals court of ignoring current information on overcrowding and prison conditions in Hungarian prisons. A 'political trial' However, the successful constitutional complaint came too late: Maja T. had already been extradited. Maja T.'s father, Wolfram Jarosch, traveled to Budapest at the start of the trial to offer his 24-year-old child moral support. On the phone with DW, he described the criminal proceedings as a "political trial." "The worst thing is the solitary confinement," Jarosch said. However, he is impressed by his child's self-discipline: Physical exercise, reading and writing according to a daily and weekly schedule. "Nevertheless, I ultimately notice that Maja is suffering more and more under these conditions, both mentally and physically," he added. There have been demonstrations in Germany in support of Maja T. Image: Markus Scholz/dpa/picture alliance Several members of Germany's socialist Left Party are taking a keen interest in Maja T.'s case. Carola Rackete, Member of the European Parliament, has already visited twice and was able to talk to the security staff about the conditions of detention. She was told that the solitary confinement had been ordered "from above," she told DW. While the other inmates are housed in multi-bed cells and have communal access to the yard, Maja T. is in solitary confinement, allegedly because of her non-binary identity. Rackete believes it is unlikely that this will change. The MEP calls on German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the German government to exert pressure on Hungary: If you seriously want to distance yourself from right-wing extremists and stand up for democratic values, you cannot stand idly by while Orban's regime destroys human lives in Hungarian courts, Rackete argues. No further extradition of suspected left-wing extremists Six suspected left-wing extremists, who had been in hiding and are also believed to have been involved in the attacks on suspected neo-Nazis in Budapest in 2023, were luckier than Maja T. The group voluntarily handed themselves in to the German authorities in January. They apparently do not have to fear extradition to Hungary, as the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed to DW on request. Accordingly, the public prosecutors responsible for the extradition proceedings were informed in writing that the investigations in Germany have priority. This means that, should charges be brought, the proceedings would take place in Germany. *Editor's note: DW follows the German press code, which stresses the importance of protecting the privacy of suspected criminals or victims and urges us to refrain from revealing full names in such cases. This article was originally written in German. While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter, Berlin Briefing.