The German police have made their first arrests of suspects allegedly involved in the Cologne mass attack that happened on New Year's Eve. All of the suspects were Algerian asylum seekers who were taken by the police in a refugee camp outside Cologne. Two of them were charged with cell phone theft; the third was held on suspicion of groping and making indecent movements againt women. The public outcry following the attack, as well as the revelation of the nationalities of the suspects, are shifting the German populace's opinon against the immigrant open-door policy of Chancelelor Angela Merkel.
According to Breibart, hundreds of men of North African descent mingled in the noisy New Year Eve celebration which happens every year in Cologne. They swarmed around many of the partying women, robbing them of their cellphones and/or sexually harassing. More than 700 complaints have been filed since that night, and half of that are related to sexual violence. Three rapes have also been reported.
This most recent arrest of the 26-year-old Algerian refugee on sexual charges marks the first time that German police have made a headway on Cologne's sexual related cases. Prior to that, only 21 suspects have been arrested, all of them associated with theft. An RT report says that the public perception of police sluggish work have already caused some heads to roll. A week after the incident, Cologne police chief, Wolfgang Albers, submitted his resignation.
But the greatest blow could hit Chancellor Merkel, whose open-door policy to immigrants has led to an influx of 1.1 million refugees fleeing from the war in Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. A BBC news analysis says Merkel's reaction is swift. Her ministers have passed a law that can cause the speedy deportation of refugees who commit crimes on German soil. These refugees-turned-suspects can also be charged and imprisoned upon conviction. Parliament still has to pass the law. In the meantime, debates have begun to rage over the aftermath of the Cologne attack and its repercussions on immigration polcies.
