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The trial against Stephan Balliet has been running since July
Photo: RONNY HARTMANN / AFP
The psychiatric report in the trial of the attack in Halle an der Saale was eagerly awaited.
Now the expert has classified the alleged assassin Stephan Balliet as fully culpable.
"An impairment of the guilty capacity from a psychiatric point of view is not to be assumed," said the forensic psychiatrist in court.
It is true that he diagnosed the defendant with a severe complex personality disorder as well as signs of paranoia and autism.
The man's ability to control and his awareness of injustice are not impaired.
Both aspects are crucial for assessing the culpability.
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Unlike delusional offenders, the accused planned his act meticulously and was able to wait for an occasion that seemed favorable to him to start the attack.
This is what perpetrators who act in a delusional manner are unable to do so.
The defendant did not show any understanding or even regret, said the psychiatrist, who spoke to Balliet for a total of twelve hours during his pre-trial detention.
The expert described B. as a taciturn loner who hardly ever had normal contact with other people.
He has difficulties integrating into his social environment.
In his view of the world, "xenophobic convictions and paranoid conspiracy theories are combined with anti-Semitism," said the expert.
When that happened is open.
"He apparently collected the material from which this worldview is fed through Internet activities."
There he also found like-minded people.
It is to be assumed with an overwhelming probability that the man would commit similar acts again if it were possible for him.
On this basis, if found guilty, the court could order post-imprisonment preventive detention.
"Suspicious, self-centered and insecure person"
A psychologist previously described the defendant in court as being of average intelligence.
She attested Balliet's traits of narcissism.
He assesses his own principles, according to which he shape his life, as high and feels superior to others in them.
At the same time, the accused drew the image of a "suspicious, self-centered and insecure person" in several tests.
He was also closed and introverted, said the expert.
The trial of the attack on the Halle synagogue has been running since July.
On October 9, 2019, a heavily armed man tried to storm the synagogue in Halle in order to cause a massacre on the highest Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur.
After he did not get into the church, he shot a 40-year-old passer-by and shortly afterwards a 20-year-old in a kebab shop.
The 28-year-old Stephan Balliet confessed to the crimes and justified them with anti-Semitic, racist conspiracy theories.
The trial is running before the higher regional court in Naumburg, but takes place in Magdeburg due to lack of space.
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sen / dpa / AFP