This had been recorded by cameras installed in a train and by private mobile phones. The police had not been able to obtain any usable material from the video cameras installed in the main station. According to GA information, this has led to criticism and incomprehension in investigative circles. The public prosecutor's office, which according to its spokesman Sebastian Buß has had the pictures and testimonies available since Wednesday, is now investigating unknown persons.

Last Sunday, the police had announced that officers of the Federal Police, supported by the Bonn police, had deployed a large contingent at Bonn's main railway station because there had been clashes after a right and left demonstration in Remagen on the way back by train. According to the Federal Police, there were 100 people, 20 of whom belonged to the right-wing scene, while the remaining 80 belonged to left-wing groups.

Criticism and shaking of heads in investigative circles ensued after the police reported that they could not be provided with any useful material about the events on Saturday by the video cameras in the main station. This is reminiscent of the case seven years ago, when it became known after an attempted bomb attack at Bonn Central Station that the video cameras there had not recorded any pictures of the near assassination, they said.

At that time, one of the perpetrators could only be caught and convicted thanks to a video recorded by one of the cameras installed in the McDonald's Restaurant on Platform 1. At that time, the railway and the federal police had promised to improve video control at Bonn's main station. It was in the common interest to ensure the best possible security at the stations, according to a joint statement.

On Thursday Jens Flören of the Federal Police replied as follows to a GA inquiry as to how many video cameras were installed in the main station today and why there were again no recordings from the cameras installed on platform 1 that could be used by the police: "Please understand that I will not tell you the number of cameras installed at Bonn Central Station from a tactical point of view.“

All cameras are and were operational on November 16, 2019. The fact that the events in connection with the situation on 16 November 2019 were not captured and/or recorded by a video camera has to do with the construction site areas or protective walls." Flören continues: "Bonn's main railway station has a modern video surveillance system with a "video workstation" specially set up for the Federal Police.

Via this, both "live images" for purposes of police hazard prevention and stored images/videos for purposes of criminal prosecution can be accessed directly. "All cameras are in working order and in the event that a camera should become defective, the procedure for the fastest possible repair with DB AG is clearly defined", Flören assured.

In view of the current extensive construction measures at Bonn's main railway station, along with the protective walls erected for reasons of construction safety, no complete video surveillance is possible at Bonn's main railway station for the time being. It was ensured that the sections that were temporarily not video-monitored due to construction measures would be successively monitored by camera. Despite a GA request, DB did not comment on the facts of the case, but referred to the statement of the Federal Police.

(Original text: Lisa Inhoffen; Translation: Mareike Graepel)