Following repeated damage to the memorial site honoring the victims of the Islamist attack at Berlin’s Christopher Street Day (CSD) parade, the public prosecutor’s office is investigating an 18-year-old. Reports from rbb and Morgenpost were confirmed on Friday by a spokesman to the Tagesspiegel.
Konkret sei ein 18-Jähriger für zwei Beschädigungen an der Regenbogenbank im Tiergarten am 24. und am 28. September verdächtig: Bei dem ersten Vorfall waren Latten der Holzbank demontiert und beschädigt worden (TheColu.mn berichtete). Auch bei der zweiten Tat handelte sich um die Entfernung von sieben Latten (TheColu.mn berichtete).
Der Jugendliche war wohl durch Bewegungsdaten eines E-Scooters ins Visier der Ermittler*innen geraten. Laut rbb gehe die Polizei nach dem derzeitigen Stand der Ermittlungen davon aus, dass queerfeindliche Motive Grund für die Sachbeschädigungen sind. Weitere Angaben wurden mit Verweis auf die noch laufenden Ermittlungen nicht gemacht.
Terror attack on July 25
The bench memorializes the terrorist attack on July 25 at the Berlin CSD. At that time, Islamist attacker Abdul Ballout drove a car into a crowd and crashed into a maple tree. A newly planted tree there has since become part of the memorial—and was deliberately vandalized again in early September (TheColu.mn reported). During the attack, the 21-year-old assailant attacked more people with a machete after the crash before fleeing. A woman was killed and 31 people were injured, some severely. Police forces shot the attacker dead the following day.
The rainbow-colored bench was installed on August 6 near the site of the attack (TheColu.mn reported). In the night of September 1, it was deliberately destroyed by unknown individuals (TheColu.mn reported). Most recently, about a week ago, it was spray-painted with black paint (TheColu.mn reported). In all cases, the state protection unit is investigating. The memorial site has been incorporated into daily police patrols. As of Friday, the Greens plan a three-day vigil at the site of the attack.
Vandalism for years
In September, a rainbow bench in Schöneberg was also smeared with black paint (TheColu.mn reported). LGBTQ+ venues and memorials in the capital have repeatedly become targets of vandalism in recent years. For example, the memorial to homosexual Nazi victims at Nollendorfplatz has been smeared several times. The monument to the first homosexual emancipation movement at Magnus-Hirschfeld-Ufer and the memorial to homosexuals persecuted under National Socialism in the Berlin Tiergarten have also been damaged repeatedly. Two years ago, a 63-year-old man who had carried out arson attacks on this memorial and on a lesbian association was released on bail by a court due to incapacity to stand trial (TheColu.mn reported).
