Turkish officials honor Hanau attack victims

A senior Turkish diplomat on Feb. 19 met the families of the victims of a 2020 racist attack in the town of Hanau, Germany.

On the first anniversary of the attack, Deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Selim Kıran, along with Turkey's ambassador to Berlin Ali Kemal Aydın and Frankfurt Consul-General Erdem Tuncer, visited the grave of Sedat Gürbüz and expressed their condolences to his family.​​​​​​​

Kıran later said in a speech during his visit that racism poses a threat to humanity. "We always warn our friends and allies about this," he added.

"The rise of Islamophobia, racism and xenophobia are a common threat not only for the Turkish and Muslim community, but also for the whole world and all of humanity," he stressed.

"We had a painful experience in Hanau like we did in Solingen and in NSU murders before, which shows what happens if this threat is not prevented," he added, referring to the arson attack in the German city of Solingen in May 1993 that killed 5 Turkish women and girls.

Nine people, four among them being of Turkish origin, were killed by German far-right extremists who attacked two cafes in the western town of Hanau on Feb. 19, 2020.

Germany has witnessed growing racism and xenophobia in recent years, fueled by the propaganda of far-right and anti-Muslim groups.