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ICE is at Seubersdorf station in der Oberpfalz (photo from November 2021)
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After a knife attack on ICE travelers about a year ago in Bavaria, the federal prosecutor's office demanded a life sentence for the alleged perpetrator.
In her closing speech, federal prosecutor Silke Ritzert accused Abdalrahman A. of attempted murder and dangerous bodily harm for base motives in three cases, among other things.
In addition, she assumes that the act has a radical Islamist background.
The victims of the knife attack, who appear as joint plaintiffs in the process, joined the claim.
On November 6, 2021, the then 27-year-old is said to have suddenly attacked four men with a knife in an ICE on the way to Nuremberg and seriously injured three of them.
"My client expected to die," said the attorney for one of the victims.
The attack still burdens the injured party and his family today.
Since the incident, he has avoided crowds, he does not use public transport and also stays away from social and sporting events for fear of flashbacks.
Fake mental illness?
A central question of the hearing at the Munich Higher Regional Court is whether the alleged perpetrator acted from a radical Islamist motive and how his mental state at the time of the crime should be assessed.
Three psychiatric experts were present during the trial to assess the latter.
The experts were finally in agreement: A. was not mentally ill when he did it.
Ritzert said in her closing speech that he committed the bloody act “in a state of full criminal responsibility”.
He wanted to make his contribution to the jihad and indiscriminately attacked travelers as "representatives of an open society".
He only pretended to have a mental illness so that if he was convicted he would be sent to a psychiatric facility instead of prison – but his calculations did not work out.
Compensation for pain and suffering in the amount of 95,000 euros demanded
There are no indications that A. was acting on behalf of an Islamist group.
Rather, he is a "lone wolf" who has become increasingly radicalized in recent years.
The "Palestinian national" grew up in Syria and came to Germany about eight years ago.
According to the Federal Prosecutor's Office, he did not find a connection, but did not blame himself, but others.
Three of the four victims of the knife attack appeared as joint plaintiffs in the process, as well as the girlfriend of one of the victims, who was sitting right next to her boyfriend when the attack happened.
She suffered post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the incident.
"It's not about revenge or gratification for my client," said a victims' attorney.
He wanted a proper processing of what had happened - and experienced this in court.
For the physical and psychological consequences of the attack, he demanded compensation of 95,000 euros.
On Friday, the court should continue with the closing arguments of the defense.
At the beginning of the proceedings, the court had scheduled 24 days of hearings until December 23 – the verdict will probably also be announced on this day.
bbr/dpa
