Asylum-seeker killed in Dresden

The prosecutor for the German state of Saxony, Lorenz Haase, confirmed on Wednesday that recently deceased Khaled I. died of multiple stab wounds.

The 20-year-old man was an asylum-seeker from Eritrea. His neighbors had found him dead close to his apartment in the Leubnitz-Neuostra district.

However, he added that there was still no evidence or information about the circumstances, background or possible suspects. The weapon that was used is also missing.

"We believe we are dealing with a homicide," police chief Dieter Kroll said. "But if the autopsy indicates that we are wrong, that would be a big relief."

In their first statement, a police spokesman had said that Khaled's death could have been an accident. Nevertheless, victims' friends and roommates have shared disturbing information on social media platforms, saying how the corpse was covered in blood with visible injuries.

According to German media reports, Khalid I. left his apartment on Monday evening. In the morning, he was found dead.

Some speculate he may have been the victim of a hate crime. Dresden is the stronghold of the right-wing PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West) movement, which calls for greater asylum restrictions. On Monday, over 25,000 people marched in Dresden in support of the group. An estimated 9,000 people marched in counterdemonstrations against PEGIDA the same day.

Figures released on Wednesday by Germany's Federal Interior Ministry showed that 202,834 people sought asylum in Germany last year. This is a 60-percent increase from 2013.

jil/kms (dpa, epd)