Several women became victims of the so-called “rape drug” at a party of the parliamentary faction of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) of Germany, reported the newspaper Tagesspiegel on July 9.
The publication reports that this information came to journalists from the SPD internal chat, where at least eight cases were mentioned. One of the possible victims complained of feeling unwell, dizziness and memory loss while saying that she did not drink alcohol but simply ate and drank during the event.
The condemnation by the leaders of the SPD was very harsh, calling it a “monstrous act” and making it clear that they had immediately reported the incident to the police.
The party took place last Wednesday and was attended by about a thousand people, including deputies, employees of the German Bundestag and constituencies. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz was also there.
The next day, the police said that they had received a complaint from a 21-year-old girl who said she did not remember anything after the July 6th party. She said that she did not drink alcohol but drank soft drinks and ate at the party, and around 9:30 p.m. felt unwell. The next morning, she could not remember the events of the previous evening. The girl was examined by doctors, and the police were called. A blood sample was taken from her for a toxicological examination, but its results are not yet public. An investigation was opened against unknown persons for serious personal injuries, and in the meantime, there were reports of at least eight other cases, the SPD reports.
At that time, the exact number of victims was known. Berlin police launched an investigation into the incident and, on July 8, confirmed four more cases with similar symptoms.
“Several women complained of nausea and dizziness,” a spokesman for the Berlin police said.
The alleged victim of the attack anonymously contacted the editorial office of the RBB24 television channel.
“These drops made me helpless and defenseless and led to a complete “blackout” of consciousness,” she said.
“Rape drug” refers to substances that are mixed into the drinks of potential victims, after which they usually do not remember anything. As per the German media, the victims were administered with so-called ‘KO drops’, a tasteless liquid drug that easily mixes with drinks which leads to effects ranging from short-term memory loss to fainting. These are used mainly for sexual abuse but also for theft.
For the leaders of the SPD, it was “a shock”. “It makes me angry that such a thing could happen in an event organized” by the party, said the co-leader (along with Scholz) Lars Klingbeil, hoping that those responsible are arrested and prosecuted as soon as possible. A spokesperson confirmed that the party was reserved for party members and could only be attended by invitation. Adding little else, except that “there are still few certainties” and that “the police are investigating”.
According to the Berliner Zeitung, 22 cases of assaults with rape drugs were reported to the police last year in Berlin. Their actual number may be higher but not reported as many victims are ashamed to register a case with the police or have very little memory of the incident.