On Saturday (27 August), more than 10,000 people gathered in Münster city centre to speak out against discrimination and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.
When one attendee, intent on spreading hate, began hurling homophobic abuse at two women, Malte, a young trans man, stepped in to defend them, reports German publication Männer Media.
In response, the attacker began punching Malte in the face, knocking him to the ground and beating him until he was unconscious.
According to the local trans support group Trans-Inter-Münster, of which Malte was a member, he was rushed to hospital where he underwent several operations and was put into an induced coma because of a brain haemorrhage.
“He’s had it hard enough in his life so far, and now this,” the group posted to Facebook.
“We are thinking of him and really hope that he does not have any lasting damage, but hopefully this trauma will not bring him down either. We hope the person who committed the crime gets his just punishment.
“According to the latest information, he remains in a critical condition and is so seriously injured that if he were to survive, there is a high probability of serious [neurological] damage.”
According to German reports, police have not yet identified a suspect and are appealing for witnesses.
‘A politically motivated crime’
A police spokesperson said witnesses described the attacker as being aged 18 and 20 years old, wearing wide-cut jeans and a bucket hat. After beating Malte, he fled with another man of a similar age.
The Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany, the country’s largest LGBTQ+ rights organisation, said in a statement: “The Münster police and the police state security must quickly clarify this transphobic act of violence and classify it as what it is: a politically motivated crime.
“When our community isn’t safe even on Christopher Street Day, it shows how much anti-LGBTIQ* hate crime restricts our freedom.
“Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, non-binary and queer people have a fundamental right to live freely and safely. It is the duty of the state to guarantee and protect these fundamental freedoms.”
(Die Partei und Die Grünen) und sogar der WDR Münster der einen kleinen Beitrag dazu drehte und so auf das Verbrechen aufmerksam machte.
Wir haben an einen kleinen Ort, der nicht der Tatort ist, eine Fahne ausgelegt und kleine Steine als Zeichen das jemand an ihn denkt gelegt. pic.twitter.com/vXum6DEm5F— Transgender Germany (@TransgenderGER) August 30, 2022
On Sunday, a vigil was held for Malte in collaboration with local LGBTQ+ organisations and businesses, with queer Christian groups leading a prayer.
A trans Pride flag was laid out in his honour, held down with specially decorated stones, “as a sign that someone is thinking of him”.