A widely-reported story about Arab men allegedly going on a rampage of robbery and sexual assault in Frankfurt (Germany) on New Year’s Eve has been exposed as “baseless” after investigation by police.
The German tabloid Bild, which originally reported the claims, has apologised for what it said was a “false report”, which was based on the now disputed claims of a pub owner and some of their staff. The newspaper has removed the story from its website.
On February 6, Bild reported claims that women were attacked by a 50-strong group of “Arabic and North African looking men”, at the city’s Fressgass nightspot. The tabloid reported that Jan Mai, 49, a chef, claimed that 50 Arab men caused mayhem at his restaurant in the Fressgass area, sexually assaulting women.
German police said they had interrogated staff and patrons at the pub and their statements “created considerable doubt about the portrayal of events” and that the story was “baseless” or “without foundation”. One person who had claimed to have witnessed the attacks was not even in Frankfurt on New Year’s Eve.
Bild wrote: “The Bild editorial team expressly apologises for this non-truthful reporting and the accusations against those concerned. This reporting does not correspond in any way to the journalistic standards of Bild.”
The newspaper said it would investigate how it came to be published.
