Envoy visits Turkish woman who was attacked in Germany

By Mesut Zeyrek

COLOGNE, Germany

A Turkish woman who last week suffered a violent attack by a stranger in Germany got a visit on Tuesday from the local Turkish diplomat.

Hacer Ugurlu told Anadolu Agency the story of her assault in the city of Cologne, saying: "I took the tram to go to work in the afternoon. The tram was crowded, the person sitting next to me looked me in the face and mumbled something, and then swore.

“As I stood to get off at my station, he punched me in the face and head. No one did anything to stop him.”

Saying her life was in danger, Ugurlu said she didn’t know why she was targeted.

Visiting Ugurlu at Eduardus Hospital where she is getting treatment, Ceyhun Erciyes, Turkey's consul in Cologne, denounced the attack and requested details from the police about it. He also demanded the attacker be caught so he could face justice.

Ugurlu also said her attacker was able to leave the train unhindered.

"The tram driver came in, I asked him why he opened the door, and he said the attacker had escaped. I told him we could find him from the security cameras and he said, ‘Only if they’re working’."

Ugurlu said she is certain all public transportation areas have camera systems recording everything and the drivers can see what is happening inside trams.

She voiced her determination to not let the matter go without getting justice.

Though the motives for the assault were unclear, Turkey has denounced rising xenophobia in Europe and attacks on Germans with foreign roots.