Probe continues amidst unanswered queries following the demise of a 16-year-old in Friedland.
In the peaceful town of Friedland, near Göttingen in Lower Saxony, a shocking incident has left the community in mourning. A 16-year-old girl lost her life on August 11, after being pushed in front of a passing freight train.
The suspect in this heartbreaking case is a 31-year-old Iraqi man, who has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. According to Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Daniela Behrens (SPD), this case highlights the problems with the Dublin procedure.
The man, who served a substitute custodial sentence and then returned to Friedland as an asylum seeker, was initially released due to lack of initial evidence. However, DNA traces found on the victim's shoulder link him to the crime.
The suspect exhibited signs of mental disturbance on the day of the incident, and he has since been placed in a psychiatric clinic under a detention order.
The victim's family, who fled from Ukraine in 2022 and lived in Geisleden and later Heiligenstadt, have been left devastated. The girl commuted daily to her training facility in Friedland.
The mayor of Geisleden, Markus Janitzki (CDU), described the victim as a cautious girl, and her death has caused great consternation in the community.
Two fundraising appeals have been launched to cover the funeral costs, with over 14,000 euros received so far. Flowers and candles at Friedland station serve as a poignant reminder of the young life lost.
Investigations are ongoing, but the lack of video surveillance at Friedland station is hampering the process. Despite this, the parents of the victim suspected early on that it was not an accident.
The suspect could have been deported to Lithuania since March 2025, but a detention pending deportation application was rejected by the Hanover Regional Court in July 2025. The suspect made an asylum application to the federal police in Braunschweig in 2022, which was rejected in December 2022.
This tragic incident serves as a stark reminder of the complexities and challenges surrounding immigration and mental health issues. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim during this difficult time.
