Some of those involved in a series of sexual assaults against women in the German city of Cologne on New Year’s Eve claimed to be Syrian refugees, according to a leaked police report.
The outbreak of violence was also far more serious than previously thought, and at one point senior police officers feared “there could have been fatalities”.
Two publications have released what they claim is an internal report by a senior officer who was at the scene.
If confirmed, the report could have far-reaching consequences for Angela Merkel’s government as it tries to deal with the aftermath of the assaults.
Ministers have said there is no evidence asylum seekers were involved in the violence.
But the leaked police report, published in Bild newspaper and Spiegel, a news magazine, claims that one of those involved told officers: “I am Syrian. You have to treat me kindly. Mrs Merkel invited me.”
Another tore up his residence permit before the eyes of police, and told them: “You can’t do anything to me, I can get a new one tomorrow.”
A local newspaper reported that fifteen asylum-seekers from Syria and Afghanistan were briefly held by police on New Year's Eve in connection with the sex attacks but were released.
The Express newspaper quoted an unnamed police officer who said his squad had detained several people who had "only been in Germany for a few weeks".
"Of these people, 14 were from Syria and one was from Afghanistan. That's the truth. Although it hurts," he said.
The newspaper quoted a second police officer as confirming the 15 who were held had "residence permits for the asylum procedure". Officers took down their names, and they are in the police records, he said.
If confirmed, the report will add new weight to claims of a police cover-up. The Cologne authorities have claimed they have no evidence whether asylum-seekers were involved.
It is not clear why the suspects were released but police officers have said they were overwhelmed on the night.
Police say they have identified 16 suspects from video recordings of the incidents. It is not known if the group includes any who were detained on New Year's Eve.
Mrs Merkel’s critics have been quick to blame the outbreak of sexual assaults and robberies in Cologne and other cities, including Hamburg, Frankfurt and Stuttgart, on the chancellor's unpopular “open-door” refugee policy. Germany registered nearly 1.1 million asylum-seekers last year.
On Thursday, Germany's justice minister warned that asylum-seekers could be deported if they are found to have taken part in the Cologne sexual assaults.
Heiko Maas said in an interview with the Funke newspaper group that "deportations would certainly be conceivable."
He said the law allows for people to be deported during asylum proceedings if they're sentenced to a year or more in prison. "The courts will have to decide on the level of sentences, but that penalty is in principle absolutely possible for sexual offenses," he said.
Bild does not name the author of the police report, but identifies him as the commander of some 100 officers sent as reinforcements to the area outside Cologne’s main station on New Year’s Eve.
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