Polish magazine sparks fury with 'Islamic rape of Europe' cover

A right-wing Polish magazine has sparked fury after publishing an edition titled "Islamic rape of Europe" featuring a cover picture of a white woman draped in an EU flag being molested by dark-skinned men.

The weekly wSieci magazine, published this week, highlights articles on the clash between Christianity and Islam and Europe's "suicidal" disregard for problems caused by immigration.

The image is a reference to sexual assaults alleged to have been perpetrated by migrant and refugee men against European women.

The photograph recalls the events of Cologne on New Year's Eve, when 1,075 criminal complaints were filed, 467 of a sexual nature, against what witnesses said were groups of mostly refugee men.

An article in wSieci by Aleksandra Rybinska states: “The people of old Europe after the events of New Year’s Eve in Cologne painfully realised the problems arising from the massive influx of migrants.

“The first signs that things were going wrong, however, were there a lot earlier. They were still ignored or were minimised in significance in the name of tolerance and political correctness.”

Twitter users said the cover was "fear-mongering" and "inflammatory", while others employed a measure of sarcasm.

Cologne prosecutor Ulrich Bremer said that most of the 73 suspects identified fell into the “general category” of refugees. Authorities were initially accused of downplaying the fact attackers were asylum-seekers because of political sensitivity.

wSieci has published a series of controversial front covers, including Angela Merkel as Mother Teresa and the then Polish prime minister Ewa Kopacz wearing a hijab and carrying bombs.