Terror - Assault on Winter Market - Trial against teenager initiated
In private, a 17-year-old Chechen must answer to charges of plotting an attack on a Christmas market at the District Court in Neuruppin. The spokeswoman of the court stated after the first trial day, "The accused has admitted to the charges." However, he did not make a confession.
Three witnesses were summoned for the first trial day, as the spokeswoman explained. Among them were two police officers and a minor, whom the accused is alleged to have told about the planned attack.
Closed trial
The accused is charged with preparing a serious, state-threatening act of violence. He was arrested at the end of last year, when he was still 16 years old. Since he was a minor at the time of the alleged offense and still is, the entire trial is being held in private.
Attack on Christmas market and synagogue
The charges against him and a 15-year-old accomplice are severe: According to the prosecution, the two planned to carry out an Islamist-motivated attack on the Christmas market in Leverkusen-Opladen and a synagogue. Concretely, the younger one was supposed to drive an rented truck over the Christmas market to kill as many visitors as possible, whom he considered infidels. The 17-year-old accused from Wittstock was supposed to film the attack.
The youth from NRW had recently published a video in which he announced an attack on "Infidels." In the background of the clip was a recognition symbol of the so-called Islamic State (IS).
Complices already sentenced
The accomplices of the young Chechen were recently found guilty by the Cologne Regional Court and sentenced to a juvenile detention term of four years. The judgment was issued for accessory to murder and disturbing the peace through the threat of criminal acts and is already final.
The youth from the Rheinisch-Bergisches Kreis had made a comprehensive confession during the trial before the Cologne Regional Court. Whether he will testify in the trial, the spokeswoman did not say. If there is a summons for him to testify, he could be compelled to do so, as he has been legally sentenced. Defendants in ongoing proceedings have the right to remain silent to avoid incriminating themselves. Currently, the convicted person must truthfully testify.
- The accused, a 17-year-old from Wittstock in Brandenburg, planned to film an Islamist-motivated attack on a Christmas market in Leverkusen-Opladen, as stated in the charges against him.
- The attack on the Christmas market was part of a broader plan, which also included targeting a synagogue, according to the prosecution, with the younger accomplice supposed to drive a rented truck into the Christmas market.
- The District Court in Neuruppin, North Rhine-Westphalia, is currently conducting a closed trial for the 17-year-old accused, as he was a minor at the time of the alleged offense.
- The two accomplices, both minors, were recently sentenced by the Cologne Regional Court for accessory to murder and disturbing the peace through the threat of criminal acts in relation to the planned attack on the Christmas market and synagogue.
