DThe Hamburg Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the operator of the Instagram account, which posted the name and photo of the suspect in the rape case. A spokeswoman said that the lawsuit against the unidentified person was initially initiated because of insults. The investigation is still in its infancy. At lunchtime on Tuesday, these photos were deleted from the account, apparently by the operator himself.
The man shown on the account was allegedly accused of mass rape in Hamburg City Park in September 2020. At that time, a 15-year-old child celebrated with friends, but did not see them. While searching for them, she met a group of young people who reportedly took them into the bushes and raped them there.
Petition calls for “immediate procedure”
Last week, a report in Bild appeared to precede the shackles on the Internet, including the fact that the suspects in the case are currently at large. The account avatar is a screenshot of the article. The account part uses the same photos of the suspected perpetrators that can also be seen in the photos, but does not cover them and state their full names. As the newspaper reported on Tuesday, violence against these individuals was mentioned in comments on Instagram accounts and Telegram chats.
The online petition launched on Thursday also called for “immediate procedures” and “disclosure of the perpetrator’s face.” In the petition, the alleged perpetrators are referred to as “wild animals that are not free of human freedom.” As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 9,200 people have registered. It is not clear whether the petition and the Instagram account are related.
As the Hamburg prosecutor announced on Tuesday, their investigation into the rape case is “nearly complete”. A total of 11 suspects have been identified, and they are now between 17 and 21 years old. The seized sperm traces can be assigned to nine of them. The final assessment of the findings of the investigation is still awaiting. An arrest warrant was issued for one of the suspects but was suspended. The spokeswoman said: “Due to non-compliance with the requirements, no further arrest warrants will be applied.” In addition to the urgent suspected crime, the legislature also stipulated the reasons for detention, such as the risk of escape or power outage. Without one of these two requirements, guardianship is impossible. Especially for young people, special burdens should also be considered.
