COLOGNE
Nearly a year after the far-right terror attack in Hanau, the families of victims and immigrants in the German city live in constant fear due to threatening behavior by the dead attacker’s father.
“We have asked for police protection, told the authorities that we are not safe here as long as he lives in this city,” Cetin Gultekin, whose brother was killed by far-right extremist Tobias Rathjen, told Anadolu Agency, adding that the population had not yet. but received a positive response.
He said Rathjen’s father, Hans-Gerd Rathjen, sent various letters to the authorities in which he made racist comments about immigrants and talked about getting rid of foreigners.
“This person is a danger to the community. He may not have a gun, but he can use his car as a weapon, shoot at people, ”he said.
Rathjen has patrolled neighborhood streets with his German Shepherd and targeted immigrants with verbal attacks, according to Gultekin.
The young Rathjen attacked two cafes in Hanau last February and killed nine people with a migration background, before killing himself and his mother in their home.
His father, known by authorities to be a follower of conspiracy theories and racist and xenophobic views, did not condemn the deadly attack and said his son was innocent.
The 73-year-old asked the authorities to return the pistol and ammunition seized from his son and attempted to get his son’s blocked propaganda site back online.
He also petitioned the city council to destroy the memorial that was built for the victims of the terror attack.