Prison sentence in trial for shooting at synagogue in Bochum
The defendant was convicted of attempted arson, attempted aggravated arson and causing an explosive device explosion, among other things. He was also convicted of drug possession. The public prosecutor's office requested a four-year prison sentence in the trial. The defense pleaded for three and a half years in prison.
The man was on trial for several charges. According to the indictment, he shot at the synagogue in Bochum in April 2021. A pane of glass above the entrance was hit, leaving a hole. The public prosecutor's office assumed that the man had right-wing extremist views. He is also alleged to have set fire to a parked car in December 2022. A tire caught fire but went out again.
Back in May 2017, he allegedly threw a burning Molotov cocktail at a window of a Bochum kindergarten in an attempt to start a fire. The attempt failed. In February 2018, he is said to have thrown another burning Molotov cocktail, this time against the window of an apartment building. The apartment behind it belonged to a woman living in Poland. This attempt also failed and the bottle burned out on the balcony.
During a search of the apartment last May, more than 200 grams of marijuana as well as numerous knives and other weapons were found. The 37-year-old is said to have grown some of the drugs himself.
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The court spokeswoman announced the prison sentence, falling slightly short of the public prosecutor's office's request but surpassing the defense's plea. The defendant will serve time for his drug-related offense in addition to his charges related to the synagogue and the two failed arson attempts. The four-year sentence was handed down by the Regional Court in Bochum, where the man's trials for these incidents took place. The shots fired at the synagogue in April 2021 will now see him imprisoned, as will his right-wing extremist beliefs and his attempts to damage other buildings with explosives.
Source: www.stern.de
