German commissioner: Compensation for victims of terrorism too low

Berlin (dpa) - A German government commissioner on Wednesday called for "significantly" higher compensation for the family members of terrorist attack victims, nearly one year after a truck attack at a Berlin Christmas market left 12 people dead and scores injured.Kurt Beck, the government commissioner responsible for the victims of crime, said in his final report on the attack that the 10,000 euros (11,700 dollars) currently allotted to each immediate family member of a victim was far too low.The December 19, 2016, attack saw Anis Amri, a Tunisian national whose asylum request had been denied, drive a stolen truck into the Christmas market located in front of the landmark Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in the west end of Berlin. It was the first major Islamist terrorist attack on German soil.Beck also said that the family members of victims and the people injured had had to deal with widespread chaos and confusion at the public administration bodies dealing with the attack.In order to remedy this, Beck suggested the creation of single points of contact for victims, both at the national and at the state level.Justice Minister Heiko Maas welcomed the suggestions, saying that the government "must not abandon those injured or left bereaved by an attack."