Berlin police have opened an investigation into what they think is a politically motivated arson attack on a youth centre in the Treptow-Köpenick district. Unknown perpetrators stole the Pride flag flying in front of the CAFE Köpenick youth club, then returned a short time later and set fire to a pile of dry grass, newspaper, and old posters wrapped in the rainbow flag in front of the entrance. The attack took place around 12:45 am on June 24, at which time young people were still inside the building. According to current information, no one was injured.
The facility, which is considered an open youth centre, explicitly positions itself against queerphobia, racism, and right-wing ideologies. “The fact that the Pride flag was used for the firebomb cannot be separated from the queerphobic context,” stated CAFE Köpenick in a public statement.
According to the youth club, this incident is the latest in a series of discriminatory incidents in the Treptow-Köpenick district. The district’s register regularly documents queerphobic and transphobic propaganda, damaged rainbow symbols, as well as threats and assaults.
Despite the attack, the CAFE team announced that they will not reduce visibility: The Pride flag is already flying again in front of the building. At the same time, CAFE Köpenick emphasised the seriousness of the incident, they said: “When homophobic symbolism leads to an arson attack on a youth centre where young people are present at the time, it cannot be dismissed as just another act of vandalism.”
This is the second arson attack that has been cited as a politically motivated move in recent weeks. The police are investigating and are asking witnesses who made suspicious observations in the vicinity of the café on the night from Thursday to Friday around 12:45 am to contact them.
