Murder in Hanover | Algerian Rahma A.: Was it a racially motivated femicide?

The news of the violent death of 26-year-old Rahma A. has caused horror beyond Hanover. The young Algerian woman was stabbed to death on the morning of July 4th in the stairwell of her apartment building in Arnum, south of Hanover – presumably by a neighbor, a 31-year-old German who has been in custody since then. According to the autopsy, A. died from multiple stab wounds, one of which struck her heart.

Local residents report that the suspect had previously attempted to gain access to Rahma's apartment. The man repeatedly insulted and harassed her because of her hijab and her ethnicity, her mother told Al-Araby TV. According to the public prosecutor's office, the alleged perpetrator had no criminal record.

Rahma A. reportedly lived in Germany for two years, worked at a Hanover hospital, and wanted to begin training as a nurse. The staff at her employer, the KRH Klinikum Siloah, expressed shock at the incident and collected donations for her family.

On Thursday evening, over 100 people gathered in Hanover's city center for a vigil organized by the Network Against Femicides. Prayers were held for Rahma A. beforehand at a mosque, with the Algerian ambassador also participating. Another rally took place in Arnum, where participants warned of increasing Islamophobia. "If the perpetrator had been a Muslim and the victim German, all the media would be reporting on it," the London-based online magazine "The New Arab" quoted a demonstrator as saying.

The case is causing anger and political demands in the Algerian community in Germany and abroad. As "The New Arab" reports, activists and relatives accuse authorities of failing to adequately investigate the crime as a possible racially motivated femicide. Rahma A. said she felt unsafe for weeks before the crime.

Representatives of the Algerian government also spoke out: The Algerian Secretary of State for Citizens Living Abroad called the act a "heinous crime" and demanded better protection from Germany. The Algerian Embassy in Germany announced that it would organize the transfer of Rahma A.'s body to Oran, where she will be buried.