About 200 people took part in a spontaneous protest in Toruń on Sunday after a 19-year-old foreigner attacked a 24-year-old woman on Thursday. The woman is fighting for her life in hospital. The attacker was arrested and faces life in prison. The protesters were opposing immigration.
The march went from the Nicolaus Copernicus monument in the Old Town Square to the place in Glazja Park, where the woman was attacked at 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday night. The protesters opposed immigration. The demonstration, although participants emphasized that it was a spontaneous gathering, was attended by representatives of right-wing circles, including the National Movement, as well as supporter groups.
Among the slogans raised were “God, honor and fatherland”, “Stop the immigrant savageness” and much more vulgar slogans opposing the acceptance of refugees and immigrants to Poland. Talking to the PAP reporter, the participants emphasized that citizen patrols have already been established in Toruń. Such information has also appeared in recent days on the profiles of right-wing organizations.
On Friday, the court decided to arrest for three months a 19-year-old foreigner who attacked a woman on the night from Wednesday to Thursday in Glazja Park in Toruń. The man was charged on Friday with attempted murder of the 24-year-old. The injured woman is in serious condition in hospital, with extensive injuries to multiple organs. The perpetrator inflicted several blows with a sharp instrument on her head, neck and chest.
“19-year-old from Venezuela Yomeykert R.-S. has been charged with attempted murder of Klaudia K.” – said Rafał Ruta, deputy spokesman for the District Prosecutor's Office in Toruń, on Friday. The foreigner faces up to life in prison.
The court agreed to the motion on Friday and imposed a three-month arrest. The judge, justifying the need to apply this measure, indicated that the foreigner faces a severe penalty, and there is a justified fear that he could hide from law enforcement. He also pointed to the evidence collected in the case, which in his opinion makes the perpetrators probable.
The attack on the 24-year-old took place at around 1 a.m. on Thursday. A witness who heard her cries for help alerted the police. He ran out of the apartment to help the woman and scared off the attacker.
The injured woman is fighting for her life in hospital. The prosecutor's office is not providing any further information about the woman's health at the request of the family. Prosecutor Ruta told PAP on Sunday that the classification of the act, i.e. attempted murder, has not changed.
According to information from PAP, the injured woman is a bartender in one of Toruń's pubs, and she was returning home on the night from Wednesday to Thursday.
“In the area of Pokoju Toruńskiego Square, a woman was attacked by an offender. The man stabbed her several times in the head, neck and chest area. The victim was saved by a witness who scared the attacker away,” said prosecutor Ruta on Friday after questioning the suspect.
The motive of the perpetrator's actions has not been determined so far. Among the hypotheses, a sexual motive appears. “Traces were secured at the scene and evidence was collected, which I cannot say about at this time. A sexual motive will also be taken into account,” the prosecutor emphasized.
The murder weapon has been secured. It's a knife.
“From what we have established so far, the suspect came to Poland legally. He has been in Poland since February. The suspect's family members live here. He himself did not work in Poland. The suspect's mother is Venezuelan, and we have no information about the father,” Ruta explained.
The suspect refused to comment on the charges and explanations, as well as to answer any of the prosecutor's questions.
Tomasz Więcławski (PAP)
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