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Police in Berlin are investigating allegations of serious bodily injuries after at least nine women were apparently given a date-rape drug at an invite-only party held by the SPD, which was attended by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other MPs.
According to Tagesspiegel, SPD members were told that some guests had been spiked with “knockout drops” - a kind of liquid drug that is mixed with food or drink and can leave victims confused and vulnerable - at a party held in the garden of the Chancellery on Wednesday last week. The event was attended by around 1.000 people, including MPs as well as Bundestag and local constituency employees, including Chancellor Scholz.
Police said a 21-year-old woman reported feeling nauseous and dizzy and had realised she had no memory of the party the next day, despite having only consumed food and non-alcoholic drinks, prompting her to seek medical attention at a hospital and filing a complaint with the police. Other women have since come forward reporting similar symptoms, bringing the total number of suspected victims to at least nine.
In a letter to SPD members, parliamentary group leader Mathias Martin wrote, “At our summer party there were obviously attacks on colleagues with “knockout drops”. This is an outrageous incident, which we immediately reported to the Bundestag police.” Anyone else who suspects they may have been targeted has been urged to contact the police.
SPD co-leader Lars Klingbeil told Welt he was shocked at the news. “It makes me angry such a thing could happen at an event organised by the SPD.” Another spokesperson for the party told AFP, “There’s quite a lot of emotion… It was an internal event. You could only get in with an invitation. There’s still a lot of uncertainty, the police are investigating.”
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