Berlin Metro Attacker Jailed for Booting Woman Down Stairs in Horror Assault

The 28-year-old man who sparked internet outrage after leaked footage showed him kicking a woman down the stairs of a Berlin metro station has been jailed for nearly three years.

Identified only as ‘Svetoslav S.’, the man was sentenced to two years and 11 months in prison after he was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm by a German court.

Police appealed for witnesses to the October 2016 attack by releasing footage of a young woman being kicked down the stairs of Hermannstrasse U-Bahn station. She suffered a broken arm and head injuries.

Svetoslav admitted to kicking the woman in court, but maintained that he had no memory of the incident as he was under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and crystal meth at the time.

The Bulgarian apologized to his victim in court and insisted he only became aware of the incident after watching the footage online like everyone else. “I found it horrible myself when I saw it,” he said, reports Süddeutsche Zeitung.

The sentence was less than the three years and nine months sought by the prosecution after Svetoslav has found to not have full control over his emotions or decisions.

The court heard from his wife, who claimed the pair had fought that night, and Svetoslav had struggled to control his aggression and drug dependency since a car crash in 2008 left him badly injured.

A psychiatric expert testified that Svetoslav suffered a serious head injury in the crash and had reduced culpability as a result of the alcohol and drug abuse. The expert also claimed Svetoslav had an IQ of 63, classifying him as intellectually impaired and unable to control his emotions.

Then you add drugs and alcohol and his IQ was probably closer to half that. Mind you, use of drugs and alcohol should not diminish responsibility or reduce culpability. When we choose to use alcohol or drugs, we are choosing to reduce our mental and emotional capabilities.

7 Migrants Charged with Attempted Murder After Homeless Man Nearly Set on Fire

German prosecutors say suspects came to Berlin as asylum seekers from Syria, Libya

CBC News 

The Schoenleinstrasse subway station in Berlin is pictured in this 2010 file photo.

German police have charged seven males between ages 15 and 21 with attempted murder

after they allegedly tried to set a homeless man on fire in the subway station early

Sunday morning. (Tobias Kleinschmidt/dpa via Associated Press/file photo)

Police have charged seven young migrants with attempted murder after they allegedly tried to set a homeless man on fire in a Berlin subway station, Germany's broadcaster Deutsche Welle reports.

The 37-year-old was sleeping on a bench in the Schoenleinstrasse subway station at around 2 a.m. Sunday. Passersby extinguished the paper that he apparently had used to cover himself, and a train driver used a fire extinguisher to prevent the flames from spreading.

The man, who was intoxicated, was unhurt.

Six of those charged turned themselves in Monday evening and the seventh was arrested after authorities released surveillance camera pictures and video footage of them in a subway train, German police said Tuesday.

They're all male and between 15 and 21 years old. Six are from Syria and one is from Libya, and all came to Berlin as asylum seekers, according to prosecutors.

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Youths Who Set Fire to Homeless Man in Berlin Arrested; All are Refugees

Six are from Syria and the 7th from Libya

Refugee suspects surrender to police after homeless man set on fire in Berlin

The suspects accused of setting a homeless person on fire in the Berlin underground have been identified as refugees from Syria and Libya, police confirmed. Six of them surrendered to police, while the seventh was arrested in a police operation.

“Six suspects turned themselves in at various police stations [Monday] evening, [and] another suspect was arrested last night by undercover investigators,” an official police release said. 

The seven young men allegedly set a homeless person on fire as he slept at the Berlin Schonleinstrasse station overnight into Christmas Day on Sunday, police say.

The attackers fled the scene, but the victim survived without any injuries after passersby helped to extinguish the flames.

Following the incident, police released images of the perpetrators, asking locals to help identify them. Law enforcement officials qualified the incident as an “attempted murder,” and announced that an investigation was underway.

Police have now been able to establish the identities of all of the suspects, and have stated the men are all refugees aged between 15 and 21.

"The seven suspects are all young men between 15 and 21 years of age,” Thomas Neuendorf, deputy head of the Berlin police press office, told Ruptly video agency.

“Six of the suspects were born in Syria and one of the suspects was born in Libya. All of the suspects have refugee status here [Germany]," the official said.

It is so far not clear when exactly the suspects entered the country, Spiegel Online reports, citing a police spokeswoman.

Police have also identified the main suspect in the case, Berlin’s RBB reports. “We know who the prime suspect is. It is the 21-year-old [refugee],” the police spokesperson told the media outlet.

Berlin’s minister for the interior, Andreas Geisel, branded the attack “inhumane” and thanked the passersby for coming to the aid of the homeless person.

“I am horrified and I am thanking all those who courageously helped. This is truly a fellow-humanity,” Geisel said, as quoted by Die Zeit. 

video 2:37

Police in Berlin recently used video images to arrest another underground attacker. Two weeks ago CCTV footage emerged showing a male kicking a young woman down the stairs at a station, breaking her arm.

Although the incident happened back in October, police released the video evidence over a month later, asking for help in the identification of the assailant. On December 18, law enforcement finally managed to detain the attacker, who turned out to be a 27-year-old Bulgarian man. He is now being investigated alongside his two brothers and another person seen in the CCTV footage during the assault.

Berlin U-Bahn Attackers Try to Set Homeless Man on Fire on Christmas Eve

Just weeks after a subway attack triggered a national outcry,

a group attacked a homeless man with fire.

Police are treating the attack as an attempted murder.

Deutschland Obdachloser sollte angezündet werden (picture alliance/dpa/P. Zinken)

A group of people attempted to set fire to a homeless person sleeping in a Berlin subway station on Christmas Eve, police said on Sunday.

Police were searching for five or six unknown assailants who threw a burning object onto the 37-year-old man, setting fire to his bedding, a police report said.

People passing by, including a train driver with a fire extinguisher, rescued the man from the flames. He was uninjured but his belongings were destroyed.

"These days we should expect charity. Instead, we are experiencing human contempt," said Berlin's state interior minister Andreas Geisel on Sunday.

Just two weeks ago the nation was shocked by an unprovoked attack

in a station three stops away on the U8 line.

A 27-year-old Bulgarian man allegedly kicked a young woman down a set of stairs in Hermannstraße, breaking her arm. The incident was captured on security cameras.

 CCTV captured a man kicking a young woman down a set of stairs (Polizei Berlin) 0:37

The unprovoked attack in a station three stops away triggered nationwide condemnation. 

"I am horrified and thank all those who have courageously helped. This is true fellow-humanity."

The attack happened in the Schönleinstraße U-Bahn station, on the border of the Kreuzberg and Neukölln districts.

Police were treating the attack, which was captured on unreleased closed circuit camera footage, as an attempted murder.

German news agency dpa said the attack was carried out by a group of teenagers. 

What they are not saying is that it appears the gang consisted of migrants. Welcome to the new Germany. 

After the attack, several police organizations called for more video surveillance in Germany, and, it appears Germans are more and more willing to accept increased surveillance.