About 30 gravestones were damaged at a Muslim cemetery in the city of Iserlohn in Germany, the Turkish Foreign Ministry demands punishment of the Islamophobic criminals, German Minister Özdemir condemns
The incident is thought to have occurred late Friday or early Saturday (Dec 31, 2021 – Jan 1, 2022), according to a statement by prosecutors and the Hagen police department. Authorities issued an appeal for information from anyone who witnessed the vandalism or has information that could help the investigation, Daily Sabah reports.
The attack comes amid a worrying rise in Islamophobic crimes in Germany in recent years.
Expressing its “sadness” over the incident, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the attack on New Year’s Eve was “a new indicator of a sick Islamophobic mentality that has been on the rise especially in Europe and even targets Muslim cemeteries.”
The ministry urged officials to find the “perpetrators of this disastrous attack” who must be “brought to justice and given the punishment they deserve.”
It also asked authorities to take the necessary measures to prevent such incidents from happening.
Germany’s new agriculture minister from the Green Party, Cem Özdemir (pictured above), has condemned the recent Islamophobic attack on a Muslim cemetery in the country’s northwest, the German embassy in Turkey said on Tuesday.
“The desecration of graves in Iserlohn is deeply repugnant and nothing more than a cowardly anti-Muslim attack. My thoughts are with the relatives of the deceased. I can well imagine what they are feeling. Let’s not leave them alone!” Özdemir had voiced on Sunday.
Cem Özdemir was born in Germany, his parents both are “migrant workers” from Turkey.
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