Amed Sherwan, who previously fled his home country of Iraq for his own safety as an atheist, became the victim of a public attack even after receiving asylum. In the middle of Flensburg with numerous witnesses, Amed’s assailant struck him in the head and feet just as Amed was exiting a house, proceeding then to beat and kick Amed while he was down. Fortunately, authorities and medical assistance were called for promptly, and Amed survived.

"I want to wake people up and make them think. Sometimes I have to go where it hurts. Unfortunately, such actions are not completely harmless here in Germany either. But I wouldn’t have thought it would escalate like this. The perpetrator was obviously looking for an excuse to attack me. That frightens me." - Amed Sherwan

Apparently, Amed had met his attacker two days prior at a festival in Flensburg. Having evidently recognized Amed from pictures or videos online, he immediately insulted him, and later, when Amed was taking pictures with his phone, his future attacker accused Amed of taking pictures of his wife, explicitly threatening him. Obviously, the threat was serious, but fortunately largely unproductive.