BERLIN, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Two German men suspected of brutally beating a black German of Ethiopian origin in a racist assault Sunday denied the attack when questioned Friday by the federal court in Karlsruhe.

    "Both insist they have nothing to do with the crime and are asserting alibis," said federal prosecutor Kay Nehm.

    But there was compelling evidence against them, Nehm said, adding that traces of blood found on a broken bottle at the scene did not come from the victim, who has been in critical condition in hospital.

    He said a witness to the attack would also link the two men, 29 and 30, to the crime.

    Race hate appeared to have been the motive for the brutal beating and kicking of the black victim at a city tram stop early Sunday morning, Nehm said.

    The two men were arrested Thursday in Potsdam, near Berlin, and flown Friday morning in handcuffs and blindfolds to Karlsruhe in south-western Germany.

    The 37-year-old victim has been identified as Ermyas M. who was naturalized as a German citizen. In a recording of a mobile phone call the victim made to his wife at the time of the attack, the voices of at least two men can be heard calling him "dirty nigger."

    Federal authorities had taken charge of the inquiry, saying the case involved national public safety and was politically sensitive.

    Also on Friday, police disclosed a new racist attack in the eastern German city of Magdeburg, where a 39--year-old black social worker born in Mozambique was abused and punched in the face Thursday evening.

    Local media reported that police were planning to indict five attackers for sedition, assault and wearing Nazi symbols. Enditem