Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart - Attacks on mosques planned: Prison sentences for terrorist group
It is a mammoth trial that comes to an end on Thursday in the high-security courtroom of the Higher Regional Court in Stuttgart-Stammheim: over 173 days, the court tried eleven defendants for two and a half years, rummaged through around 150,000 pages of files, heard more than 130 witnesses and experts and listened to over 200 telephone recordings. The sentencing on Thursday is also a mammoth event: The presiding judge spends the whole day explaining the reasons for the verdict, and even the otherwise very brief sentencing of the defendants takes some time.
Then it is clear: some of the defendants will have to go to prison for a long time, the senate of the higher regional court sentences them to prison with two exceptions. The ringleader Werner S., after whom the "Group S." is also named, goes to prison for six years, another ringleader, in the court's view, must serve five years and three months. The other defendants receive sentences ranging from two and a half to four and a half years. One defendant gets off with a suspended sentence. One defendant, who had reported the group's plans to the security authorities, is acquitted.
The defendants follow the verdict mostly impassively, looking around or talking to their defense lawyers. Ringleader Werner S. is busy solving a Sudoku puzzle, the man sitting next to him stares impassively at the floor.
The court is convinced that the convicts founded an extreme right-wing terrorist group, were members of it or at least supported it. At a meeting in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia, in February 2020, the men discussed attacks on mosques that would trigger a civil war. In discussions, they sounded out who was prepared to do so. Potential waverers were threatened with death. They also talked about buying weapons, and many participants pledged thousands of euros to finance them, the judge explained.
The men had previously networked in chat groups and shared their violent fantasies there. The court is convinced that they write and speak of "human waste", "filthy pigs" and "sub-humans" and share violent fantasies and swastikas. According to the judge, however, this is not enough for them. In September 2019, some of the defendants met for the first time in person at a barbecue area near Alfdorf, north-east of Stuttgart.
In his plea a few weeks ago, a defense lawyer called the group a "collection of pompous pontificators". The presiding judge sees things differently. "There are not eleven men sitting here who only disagreed with the refugee policy," he says. Instead, in his view, the defendants are close to right-wing extremist and in some cases National Socialist ideas - but not only: "The attitudes were also motivated by fear," says the judge. The defendants had feared violent attacks by foreigners and were afraid that immigrants could take over power in Germany. However, the conversations in Minden could not have been misunderstood, says the judge. "Now let's talk straight", said one of the participants, the judge explained. Then it was about attacks.
The strictly secured proceedings were dragged out due to their scope and the coronavirus pandemic. One of the suspects had already died in custody before the charges were brought. One of the defendants from Bavaria died unexpectedly during the trial. According to the Higher Regional Court, the man collapsed on his way home from a trial in the Stammheim high-security wing just outside his apartment.
The legal investigation into "Group S." is probably not yet over with the end of the mammoth trial in Stuttgart. The verdict is not yet final. Some lawyers announced in advance that they would contest the verdict. And it is not the only trial against suspected right-wing terrorists currently underway in German courtrooms. Four men and one woman are currently on trial in Koblenz for allegedly planning to cause a widespread power blackout and kidnap Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach.
Information from the OLG on the proceedings
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- Despite the acquittal of one defendant who reported the group's plans to the authorities, the Higher Regional Court in Stuttgart-Stammheim sentences several other individuals to imprisonment for their involvement in a extremist terrorist group.
- Werner S., the ringleader of the group named "Group S.", receives a six-year imprisonment sentence for his role in the terrorist activities.
- The Higher Regional Court in Stuttgart-Stammheim also sentences another ringleader to five years and three months in prison for his involvement in the terrorist group.
- The men in this terrorist group discussed attacking mosques in Germany, aiming to trigger a civil war, during a meeting in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia, in February 2020.
- During the extensive trial, the court analyzed around 150,000 pages of documents, heard over 130 witnesses and experts, and listened to over 200 telephone recordings.
- Baden-Württemberg, the German state where Stuttgart-Stammheim is located, was a key setting for this mammoth trial in the fight against criminality.
- The terrorist group members discussed issues of extremism, often referring negatively to refugees and immigrants, fearing violent attacks and fearing that immigrants could take over power in Germany.
- Even after the end of the trial, legal processes may continue, with some lawyers planning to contest the verdict, and there are other ongoing trials against suspected right-wing terrorists in German courtrooms.
- The trial highlights the need for German authorities to remain vigilant against terrorist groups, regardless of their ideologies, and to ensure the safety of all citizens, including Muslims and refugees.
Source: www.stern.de
