Crime - Islamist attack on church planned: Imprisonment demanded
In the Hamburg trial against two brothers from Syria who allegedly planned an attack on a church in Sweden, the public prosecutor's office has demanded multi-year prison sentences for the two men.
Senior public prosecutor Ulf Bornemann requested a prison sentence of six years for the 29-year-old at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg on Tuesday for preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state and financing terrorism. The representative of the general public prosecutor's office demanded a prison sentence of two and a half years for the younger brother, who is five years younger, for aiding and abetting the financing of terrorism.
In his plea, Bornemann said that the older brother had decided to carry out the radical Islamist-motivated attack with an explosive belt in the spring of this year at the latest. The aim had been to kill and injure as many people as possible.
Originally, the accused, who lived in Hamburg, had planned an attack on a place with bars or discos nearby. He had been in contact with a person via a messenger service who had presented himself as a contact person of the Islamic State (IS) under the pseudonym "Emir". This person then suggested a church in Sweden as a target.
The background to this was the Koran burnings in the Scandinavian country. An exact place of worship and time were still to be decided.
According to the public prosecutor's office, the 24-year-old supported his older brother in procuring materials. However, he repeated in a written statement on the day of the trial that he did not know the exact plans.
"I am of the opinion that you knew exactly what was going on," said the senior public prosecutor to the accused. The chats and phone calls between the two men, the chemicals and other items already purchased and the brother's comprehensive confession had made this clear.
The 29-year-old was arrested in Hamburg's St. Georg district in April, the 24-year-old in Kempten in the Allgäu region. Both have been in custody ever since.
Both brothers were initially also charged with attempted membership of a terrorist organization abroad or suspected of supporting such an organization. Ultimately, however, the identity of "Emir" and his suspected connection to IS could not be clarified, Bornemann said. The senior public prosecutor therefore requested that the charges be limited to the other accusations.
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- The case of criminality in Bavaria involved a man who was charged with aiding and abetting his brother's terrorism-related activities, as revealed in a trial in Hamburg.
- The brother's alleged plans included an attack on a church in Sweden, motivated by radical Islamist beliefs and planned for the spring, which was supported by his younger sibling.
- The public prosecutor in Hamburg demanded prison sentences for both men, accusing the elder brother of preparing a violent act and financing terrorism, and the younger brother of aiding these activities.
- The accused's attorney argued that the younger brother had limited knowledge of the specifics, but the senior public prosecutor disagreed, citing their chats, phone calls, and his brother's confession as evidence.
- In a separate development, Swedish authorities have been dealing with their own cases of criminality, as highlighted by incidents of Koran burnings in Scandinavia, which led to potential terrorism targets being discussed.
Source: www.stern.de
