Woman who defended girls being harassed by group of men dies after attack

German petition calls for bravery award for student (23)

More than a thousand people took part in a vigil  outside of the hospital in Offenbach am Mein, Germany, where student Tugce Albayrak died. Photograph: Boris Roessler/epa
More than a thousand people took part in a vigil outside of the hospital in Offenbach am Mein, Germany, where student Tugce Albayrak died. Photograph: Boris Roessler/epa

Tributes have been paid across Germany to student Tugce Albayrak who was killed after defending two teenage girls who were reportedly being harassed by a group of men.

Ms Albayrak intervened when she heard the teenagers screaming for help in a restaurant toilet in Offenbach on November 15th.

According to German media reports, she was subsequently beaten with a bat by one of the men involved in the harassment and was left in a coma.

Ms Albayrak’s life support was switched off on Friday, her 23rd birthday. Doctors had told her parents she would never regain consciousness and was brain-dead.

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A petition calling for Ms Albayrak to be awarded a posthumous bravery award has gathered more than 100,000 signatures.

An 18-year-old man is in custody over the attack.