Life imprisonment and preventive detention for Islamist attacks in Duisburg
According to the verdict, the accused, who comes from Syria, fatally stabbed a passer-by in Duisburg city center on the night of Easter Sunday. Nine days later, he attacked four men with a knife in a Duisburg fitness studio, injuring some of them critically. He was caught a few days after the attack and has been in custody ever since.
According to the Higher Regional Court, the accused, who came to Germany as a refugee in 2015, had been radicalizing himself on the internet since 2020 and was guided by the ideology of the jihadist militia Islamic State (IS). However, he acted without any "direct connection" to this or any other extremist organization. According to the court's findings, he fundamentally rejected the legal and social order of the Federal Republic of Germany and aspired to live in an Islamic "theocracy" based on Sharia law.
Against this background, he therefore regarded all those who did not share his ideology as "infidels" and was also determined to "arbitrarily kill selected male residents of the Federal Republic of Germany ", as the Higher Regional Court further stated. The acts of April were the result of this plan. The "presumed Western lifestyle" of his victims alone had served him as sufficient proof of their "disbelief".
According to the court, the accused confessed to the crimes and, during the trial that began in October, also showed his determination to commit further similar crimes in order to "fulfill a supposed religious duty". He had also refused "any communication" with his defense lawyer, which is why the latter had not made any request in his plea.
With its ruling, the Higher Regional Court complied with the motions of the federal prosecution and the joint plaintiff, who represented the surviving dependants of the victim and victims of the second attack. In addition to the conviction for murder and attempted murder as well as the permanent placement in preventive detention, the court also determined the particular gravity of the guilt.
The crimes were committed insidiously and with base motives and had claimed a "large number of victims", the court explained. The knife attacks also had "considerable consequences" for the injured. Due to the defendant's "tendency to commit attacks and the associated danger to the general public", he was also ordered to be placed in preventive detention.
According to the court, the man killed was a 35-year-old who was partying with friends in Duisburg city center. According to the indictment, the accused stabbed him at least 28 times with a kitchen knife, injuring him so severely that he died on the same day. During the attack in the gym, he randomly attacked three men in the changing rooms and showers and stabbed some of them several times in the upper body. He also attacked a fourth man who tried to help.
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- The Higher Regional Court in Germany deemed the Syria-origin individual liable for the Easter Sunday knife attack in Duisburg city center, where he fatally stabbed a man.
- As the court further stated, the accused carried out another knife attack nine days later in a Duisburg fitness studio, targeting four men and causing critical injuries.
- The Islamist attacker, who had resided in Germany since 2015, had been radicalizing himself online since 2020 and was motivated by IS ideology.
- The accused's plan was to kill selected male residents of Germany based on their perceived disbelief in his ideology, as cited by the Higher Regional Court.
- In the April attacks, the defendant killed a 35-year-old man and wounded several others in a Duisburg gym, showing no remorse for his actions.
- The German court sentenced the attacker to life imprisonment for murder and attempted murder, as well as ordered him to be kept in preventive detention indefinitely.
- The convicted individual refused to cooperate with his defense lawyer during the trial, proving his unwillingness to acknowledge the gravity of his actions.
- The German authorities deemed the Syrian man a danger to society and ordered him to remain in secure custody, ensuring the safety of other Duisburg residents.
- The accused expressed a desire to commit further attacks in order to fulfill his religious duty and was condemned by the court for rejecting the legal order of Germany.
- The Syrian Islamist was found guilty of discarding his commitment to peace and stability in Germany, advocating instead for a Sharia-based theocracy.
Source: www.stern.de
