A Frankfurt hospital on Friday regretted the cremation of a deceased Muslim patient - which contradicts Islamic burial regulations.

"In our house, dealing with the deceased of different religions is clearly regulated," said a statement from the St. Catherine's Hospital.

The SWR had previously reported that a Moroccan had been cremated without informing his relatives.

The Moroccan Consulate General sees this as a "blatant violation of the rules".

In the case of a Muslim deceased, Islamic chaplains would be informed if no relatives could be identified, the Frankfurt clinic emphasized.

"The prerequisite is, however, that the patient provides the appropriate information," it said.

However, in the specific case there was no information on the faith or nationality of the deceased, "it was still possible to identify relatives."

Burial within 96 hours

The 45-year-old patient was brought in by the emergency services on December 20 without papers, the clinic reported. He did not provide any information about nationality, religion or relatives and expressly stated that his parents should not find out about the hospital stay. The critically ill man refused an urgently needed emergency surgery against medical advice and was released on the same day, it said. The man collapsed immediately in front of the clinic and was immediately admitted to the hospital again, but died the following day. Attempts to find relatives via the last known address of the man and via the regulatory office have failed.

In such cases, according to the clinic, the hospital must arrange for the burial to take place within 96 hours. “As a rule, cremation is chosen for the deceased for whom no information about nationality, religious beliefs or relatives is available, since these costs are later also covered by state authorities. However, we did not expressly commission them," the hospital said in a statement.

The integration policy spokesman for the SPD in the Hessian state parliament, Turgut Yüksel, criticized the incident.

"It is unacceptable to order the cremation of a dead person without the request, investigation and permission of family members," he said on Friday.

The case must be fully clarified in order to prevent further offenses against the care of the dead in the future.

"It is an important sign of living together to show the numerous members of Muslim minorities in Frankfurt that their rights in the care of the dead will be respected comprehensively and everywhere in the future," said Yüksel.