On the evening of June 30, 2024, a 31-year-old Tunisian student living in the German city of Bochum was attacked by a German citizen. The latter poured “difference water” on him while he was sitting with his spouse, a German national, in one of the city’s cafes, which required his transfer to the hospital (severe burns department) to receive the required first aid and treatment for severe burns that impact the back of the head, neck, hands, legs, and one side of the face.
As soon as the services of the Consulate General of the Republic of Tunisia in Bonn were notified of this unfortunate incident by a member of the Tunisian community who is a friend of the aforementioned citizen, the services of the German police were directly contacted, who reported that the perpetrator had been apprehended, and an investigation was opened to disclose the circumstances of the attack.
On July 1, the Consul General, accompanied by the social attaché, paid a visit to Bochum Hospital to check on the health and psychological condition of the Tunisian student who was admitted there. They were received by his attending doctor, who confirmed the improvement in the student’s health and psychological state. They were also permitted to visit him in the intensive care unit. The student is anticipated to undergo his first surgery on July 15, 2024.
During their discussion with the student, it became clear that he did not know the perpetrator and had no enmity with anyone, making it astonishing that he was personally targeted and attacked. The Tunisian student also noted that he was about to make a phone call in Arabic before the attack occurred.
According to preliminary data, the perpetrator is a German citizen named Stefan S., who is 43 years old and has a criminal record. Following the incident, German police raided his residence and seized a significant amount of incendiary materials. Several people, including police and civil protection personnel, were harmed while attempting to save the student, who fell unconscious as a result of the attack with a burning substance.
To ensure the rights of the Tunisian student, the consular services sent an official request to the public prosecutor in charge of the case to get clarifications regarding the circumstances of the incident. It also requested meetings with the regional departments involved with the issue to urge them to present an official position on the incident and guarantee that such racist attacks are not repeated. Also, at the request of the father of the person concerned, the Consulate General interfered with the consular services of the German Embassy in Tunisia to facilitate the granting of a visa to the parents of the person concerned, so that they could visit him as soon as possible.
One of the representatives of the Green Party had visited the Tunisian student, voicing full sympathy for him. He had also contacted the interests of the German Foreign Ministry to accelerate the granting of a visa for his parents.
The services of the Consulate General in Bonn, in coordination with the Tunisian Embassy in Berlin and the services of the central administration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Tunisians Abroad, continue their efforts with the regional and local authorities to guarantee the protection of the interests of the Tunisian student and follow up on the perpetrator. They are furthermore in the process of coordinating with some attorneys to consider assigning them to defend his rights.
It should be remarked that this incident is not the first of its kind to occur in Germany, which has recently seen some incidents of gratuitous violence against Tunisian citizens, for example, Dr. Salsabil Ben Fadl, who was stabbed, and the citizen who was killed in central Berlin with a racist motive.
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