In October 2017, cases of massive security violence against refugees in the AEO Bamberg became known for the first time. The AEO in Bamberg is now an Anker-zentrum and was the model for the design of the Anker-Zentren in Bavaria.
After researches of the BR of 2019 a special team was founded there which provoked, insulted and attacked refugees. There was also a chat group of security staff called “Sons of Odin” in which refugees were racially insulted.
The employees concerned were dismissed, but the security company Fair Guards and the head of security responsible at the time are still working in the Anker-Zentrum. After further research by the BR, another member of the old “special team” is again working in a newly set up “special team” in the Anker-Zentrum.
Incident 05.09.2017
On 05.09.2017 there was an incident in the canteen of the AEO Bamberg. Securities attacked a Senegalese asylum-seeker and hit him, when two other Senegalese asylum-seekers (D. and K.) came along and asked the police to be called, the Securities also attacked the other two men. They reported that they were attacked with pepper spray and kicks. When the police arrived, the refugees were arrested and a few months later were ordered to pay €1,200 each for dangerous bodily harm.
On 27.03.2018 the trial against the two Senegalese refugees took place before the district court of Bamberg, but the trial was suspended on the first day. According to research by Aino Korvensyrjä, D. was deported to Italy in April 2018 and K. has now also left Germany out of fear of further repression. For this reason, the trials were discontinued. The lawyer of K. Benjamin Düsberg accuses the securities of provoking refugees in order to achieve violent actions.
Incident 27.09.2017
On 27.09.2017 another incident occurred in the canteen of the AEO Bamberg. Two Senegalese asylum-seekers wanted to take bread from the canteen to their room, which is forbidden according to the house rules. A man was held by the securities at the T-shirt and withdrawn thereupon it came to a wrangling with the security man. Then a total of 20 other security guards stormed in and attacked the two Senegalese with pepper spray. They knocked them to the ground, kicked them in the head and dragged one of them face down a gravel road. Two employees of the security company FairGuards described the incident of 27.09.17 in an email to a supervisor and reported this and other incidents to the police on 20.10.2017. After the report, the chat logs of the WhatsApp group “Sons of Odin” were also confiscated, in which the members spoke of the incident and insulted the refugees racially. The trials against the securities were closed on 10.08.2018 because no injuries were found in the two Senegalese. However, both were only questioned as witnesses several weeks after the incidents and injuries could no longer be proven.
