BERLIN: A Pakistani asylum seeker suspected of ploughing a lorry into a Berlin Christmas market and killing 12 people was released on Tuesday for lack of evidence, prosecutors said.
“The accused, detained over the attack on the Berlin Christmas market on December 19, 2016, was let go on this evening on the orders of the federal prosecutor,” his office said in a statement. “The forensic tests carried out so far did not provide evidence of the accused’s presence during the crimes in the cab of the lorry.”
Police had earlier said that the accused might not be the right man, sparking fears the real killer could be on the run. As the shell-shocked German capital reeled from the country’s deadliest attack of recent years, doubts emerged over whether Naved B, the man detained overnight, actually committed the atrocity.
Berlin’s police chief, Klaus Kandt, said, “We may have a dangerous criminal in the area.” He announced that security would be boosted while urging “heightened vigilance”. Prosecutor Peter Frank had also said, “We may have to get used to the idea that the detained man may not be the perpetrator.” Twelve people were killed and almost 50 wounded when the truck tore through the crowd on Monday.
