A social media consultant for the political party Die Linke has faced criticism for making light of the consequences of a deadly stabbing incident in Brokstedt on social media. Dara Marc Samasz, a consultant for Die Linke in Cologne and a member of the party, reacted to a recent episode of the ARD documentary series “Klar” on the streaming platform Twitch. Initially, the Berliner Zeitung reported on the incident.
In the documentary, Michael Kyrath shares his life after losing his daughter in a knife attack by a refugee in Brokstedt, expressing his emotions in an emotional manner. Samasz commented on this, among other things, with the words: “That’s even worse than I thought.”
He continued, saying: “That’s Goebbels-stormer-level.”
Following this, Samasz laughed and sarcastically said: “That’s really quite factual at that point.”
He further criticized that this is a sensitive topic and “one must look at how one approaches this with journalistic precision.” According to his view, this was not done properly at that point.
On social media, Samasz received strong criticism for his comments. Psychologist Ahmad Mansour wrote on X: “How he handles the pain of a grieving father is a low point. In a healthy society, one should meet such people with respect, empathy and humility.”
In the comments, Samasz also responded to the criticism, stating that he “must admit that in the ‘reaction’ I come across as particularly unempathetic towards the father.” However, he argued that it was necessary to address that the father instrumentalizes his emotions to ultimately advocate against migration.
In January 2023, Kyrath’s daughter Ann-Marie, aged 17, was stabbed to death in a regional train in Brokstedt. Her 19-year-old boyfriend Danny tried to protect her but also died in the attack. A woman who was injured during the attack later took her own life. The attacker was a stateless Palestinian, born in the Gaza Strip in 1989. His asylum application was rejected in 2016, but he received subsidiary protection. The extensive police file on Ibrahim A. (which includes charges of dangerous bodily harm, drug offenses, sexual harassment, sexual abuse of children and rape of defenseless individuals) raised questions about bureaucratic failures.
Kyrath was also a guest on the ZDF show Markus Lanz, where he heavily criticized German politics. He is in contact with several parents who have experienced a similar tragedy. What all the bereaved have in common is that it always involves the same perpetrator profile, weapon and modus operandi. The politicians’ usual clichés follow – nothing happens.
Once, Kyrath approached a politician and asked: “How can someone like that be back on the streets after not even a year?” The politician replied that everyone deserves a second chance. Kyrath then offered the politician a shovel and suggested, “You can come to Elmshorn and use it to dig up my daughter and then you can tell her about it. I’m sure she’ll understand.