German policeman investigated on allegations he abused 2

BERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors said Monday they are investigating allegations that a police officer abused two 19-year-old immigrants while they were in custody and boasted about it on social media.

Hannover Prosecutor Thomas Klinge told the dpa news agency that the 39-year-old officer is accused of abusing an Afghan and a Moroccan in separate incidents in 2014.

The officer, whose name was not released in line with German privacy laws, was part of the Bundespolizei, Germany’s national police force assigned to train stations, airports and border crossing points. The two incidents, one in March and the other half a year later, are alleged to have taken place in police holding cells in the Hannover train station after the men were detained for minor infractions.

Klinge said the officer is being investigated for causing bodily harm and that his home was searched on Friday after authorities received information from two sources.

He would not identify who reported the incidents, nor would he comment on a report from broadcaster NDR that the man sent a cellphone message with a photo saying he’d made the Moroccan prisoner eat spoiled pork from the floor, and boasted on WhatsApp that he choked the Afghan until he “squealed like a pig.”

Prosecutors are trying to determine whether other officers knew of the abuse, and if there are more victims, Klinge said. Authorities are also trying to determine if the two victims are still in Germany.

The Bundespolizei refused to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.

Germany’s main police union, the GdP, called for a full investigation.

“Should the allegations at the end of the investigation prove to be accurate, this official has no place with our police,” said national chairman Oliver Malchow.

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