Berlin subway attack suspect charged, faces up to 10 years

BERLIN – German authorities have charged a 27-year-old caught on camera kicking a woman down a flight of stairs in a Berlin subway station with assault causing serious bodily harm.

The suspect, identified by prosecutors as Swetoslaw S. in line with German privacy laws, could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Police were able to identify the suspect in the October attack after publishing a video in December showing him calmly walking up behind the woman, then kicking her from behind down a half-flight of stairs. The 26-year-old victim suffered a broken arm and other injuries.

The suspect, a Bulgarian native, fled Germany to stay with relatives in France, the Bild newspaper reported Wednesday, but returned just before Christmas and was arrested at the capital’s long-distance bus station.