Crime - Climax of a bloody feud - trial for throwing hand grenades
It was the climax so far of a bloody confrontation between two rival groups: On June 9, a 23-year-old allegedly hurled a hand grenade in the direction of a mourning congregation at the cemetery in Altbach near Esslingen. Only luck prevented a bloodbath with many deaths, but at least 15 people were injured, some of them seriously. From Thursday (9.15 a.m.), the alleged grenade thrower will now have to answer to the Stuttgart Regional Court. The public prosecutor's office is accusing the Iranian of attempted murder, among other things.
According to the investigators, the background to the crime is a feud between two rival groups in the Stuttgart area that has been raging for many months. The 23-year-old defendant is said to be close to a group from the Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen and Göppingen area, while some of the mourners belonged to another group from the Esslingen area.
For security reasons, the trial will take place in the strictly secured hall of the Higher Regional Court in Stuttgart-Stammheim. Eleven trial days have been scheduled for the trial so far. A verdict is not expected before mid-March.
For several months now, there have been repeated acts of violence in the Stuttgart area, behind which investigators suspect the rival groups. People have also been shot at on several occasions. There have been incidents in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, Plochingen, Asperg in the Ludwigsburg district and Eislingen in the Göppingen district, among others. According to the State Office of Criminal Investigation, more than 40 arrests have been made so far.
According to the investigations so far, the suspected hand grenade thrower is said to have deliberately detonated and thrown the explosive device. It was actually intended to land on the forecourt of the funeral hall where the mourners had gathered. However, according to the public prosecutor's office, the grenade was deflected "by fortunate circumstances" and landed about 30 meters from the forecourt, where it exploded. The steel bullets released injured more than a dozen mourners.
In connection with the attack in Altbach, charges were also brought against five other men for attempted manslaughter and dangerous bodily harm. They allegedly punched and kicked the suspected grenade thrower, who had fled after throwing the hand grenade, in a cab waiting for him and dragged him out of the cab. The suspects - two of German, two of Turkish and one of Georgian nationality - are also alleged to have punched and kicked the 23-year-old against his unprotected head. The trial against the men is due to begin on December 14 at Stuttgart Regional Court.
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Source: www.stern.de
