Final judgment for fatal attack on Hertha fan

BGH - Final judgment for fatal attack on Hertha fan

One and a half years after the violent death of a Hertha fan, the verdict against a Rostock fan is final. The 5th Criminal Senate of the Federal Court of Justice in Leipzig (BGH) dismissed the defendant's appeal, as the review of the verdict did not reveal any legal errors to his disadvantage, the court announced on Monday.

In March, the Berlin Regional Court had sentenced the then 25-year-old to three and a half years in prison for assault resulting in death. He was also ordered to pay 10,000 euros to the bereaved.

The defendant admitted in court that he had punched the 55-year-old in the face with his fist after the relegation play-off match between Hertha BSC and Hamburger SV in Berlin's Olympic Stadium in May last year. According to the investigation, the Berlin family man fell to the ground without braking and hit the back of his head on the tarmac. He suffered severe craniocerebral trauma and died a month later in hospital.

Statement from the court

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1. The defendant's appeal against his three-and-a-half-year prison sentence for the fatal attack on a Hertha fan was dismissed by the 5th Criminal Senate of the Federal Court of Justice in Leipzig, Saxony.
2. The violent death of a Hertha fan occurred in May last year during the relegation play-off match between Hertha BSC and Hamburger SV in Berlin's Olympic Stadium, and the incident was investigated in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
3. Despite the defendant's admission to punching the 55-year-old Hertha fan in the face, causing him to fall and hit his head on the tarmac, the Criminal Senate in Leipzig found no legal errors in the Berlin Regional Court's verdict.
4. The then 25-year-old defendant was also ordered to pay 10,000 euros in compensation to the bereaved family as part of his sentence for the assault resulting in death.
5. Legal experts and soccer fans alike are paying close attention to the final judgment in this high-profile case, which underscores the seriousness of criminality at soccer matches in Germany.

Source: www.stern.de