'Comfort women' statue removed from Berlin district after court order

South Korean civic group ordered to remove statue following diplomatic request from Japan

By Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) - A "comfort women" statue was removed from Berlin's Mitte district Friday after a higher administrative court ordered the removal.

The court, on Thursday, ordered Korea Verband, a South Korean civic group, to remove the "comfort women" statue, while rejecting the organization's appeal against an order issued Monday, according to the Kyodo News.

The term “comfort women” is a euphemism for Korean women who were abducted and forced to work as wartime sex slaves by Japan before and during World War II.

Japan earlier made a diplomatic request for the statue's removal.

The leader of the South Korean civic group said Friday that the removed statue is expected to be returned to the group soon.

The statue was put up in Berlin’s Mitte district in September 2020 by the civic group, and it was initially planned to stand for only one year.

Kaynak: