GERMAN AUTHORITIES IDENTIFY THE SUSPECT OF THE BRUTAL SUBWAY ATTACK IN A BERLIN SUBWAY STATION - HE IS A BULGARIAN

The suspect, whose brutal attack on a woman at a Berlin subway station went viral, is a Bulgarian. His three accomplices are also Bulgarians, German prosecutor’s office and German media publications said on 14th of December.

The public prosecutors said they had identified the man who kicked a 26-year-old woman down a flight of stairs at the subway station in Berlin. On Monday, police had found and interviewed one of the acquaintances seen in the video, but he was later released. It appeared he was the brother of the attacker. The main perpetrator had been identified, but was not arrested because he fled to Bulgaria. An extradition will be requested. Some media said that all four men captured in the video were related and come from Bulgaria. According to BNT sources, currently there is no European arrest warrant issued or request for international legal assistance.

The incident took place on 27th of October at the Hermannstrasse U-Bahn station. The police last week released CCTV footage depicting how the man - seemingly unprovoked - had kicked the woman in the back, causing her to fall face-first to the platform. The assault left her with a broken arm. She reported the incident to the police several days later when she understood what trauma the attack caused her.

German public reacted with a strong outrage to the assault. Police this week had found and interviewed one of the acquaintances seen in the footage, a Bulgarian, but he was later released because there was not enough evidence of a crime on his part. The German authorities appealed to the public to help identify the suspect. Famous people offered thousand of euros in reward to whoever identifies him.

Bulgarian 24 hours daily says that the German authorities are preparing extradition proceedings because the attacker is hiding in Bulgaria.

According to BNT sources, the international department of the Bulgarian public prosecutor’s office has not received any European arrest warrant or request from the German prosecutor’s office for international legal assistance in relation to a Bulgarian national suspected in an attack in the subway in Berlin.