Berlin – German police have released a 24-year-old man arrested on Thursday morning after he carried out a brutal antisemitic assault in Berlin.
The man, a refugee from Syria, encountered his victim in the corridor of a hostel in Prenzlauer Berg, a popular neighborhood in the heart of the German capital. The victim, a 32-year-old Jewish man from the UK, wore a kippah, sparking his assailant’s ire. He tore the kippah of the Jewish man’s head and began stamping on it. The assailant then demanded that his Jewish victim say the words “Free Palestine” before punching him repeatedly in the face.
On arresting the assailant, police established that he had been drinking heavily. Once in custody, his identity was established from the expired resident permit he was carrying. Police later released the accused man and ordered him to report to immigration officers.
