Lübcke-Mord: Process has started - Stephan Ernst's lawyers call for suspension of negotiations

The trial of the Lübcke murder has started. The defense has already called for the trial to be suspended. To set an example, the von Lübcke family is also present.

• The trial begins a year after the murder of Walter Lübcke
• The two defendants from Kassel could incriminate each other
• The family of Walter Lübcke sitting in the courtroom

Frankfurt / Kassel - On the first day of the trial in the case against the alleged murderer of Kassel government president Walter Lübcke , the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court is facing a real mammoth trial . The interest in the trial against Stephan Ernst and his alleged helper Markus H. is huge. In total, more than 200 journalists from 70 media have been accredited. Among them are seven foreign media. 

The Walter Lübcke case: the trial starts a year after the murder at Kassel

At the start of the process, the Lübcke family will also be sitting in the 165 C high-security room. Widow Irmgard Braun-Lübcke and his sons Christoph and Jan-Hendrik Lübcke will participate in the lawsuit as co-plaintiffs - as will the Iraqi refugee Ahmad E., who is said to have been stabbed by Stephan Ernst in Lohfelden (district of Kassel) in January 2016 . 

CDU politician Walter Lübcke had been shot on the terrace of his apartment building in Wolfsburg's Istha district on June 2, 2019. Two weeks later neo-Nazi Stephan Ernst from Kassel was arrested. The investigators had found a dander from him on Lübcke's shirt. Ernst admitted the murder , then revoked his confession and charged his neo-Nazi comrade Markus H. According to information from our newspaper, Ernst has meanwhile been transferred from Jehl Wehlheiden to JVA I in Frankfurt , where Markus H. is also in custody. 

A few minutes ago, the main hearing in the proceedings against Stephan E. and Markus H. was gone. Killing Dr. Lübcke started. All journalists present can follow the process in the hall / media room.

A few minutes ago, the main hearing in the proceedings against Stephan E. and Markus H. was gone. Killing Dr. Lübcke started. All journalists present can follow the process in the hall / media room.

Murder at Kassel: Walter Lübcke in the crosshairs of right-wing extremists since 2015

The Federal Prosecutor's Office sees Ernst as a “ nationalistic, nationalistic attitude supported by racism and xenophobia.” The starting point for the later murder is said to have been a citizens' meeting in Lohfelden (Kassel) in northern Hesse in 2015, at which Stephan Ernst was present. 

There Walter Lübcke defended the admission of refugees . He responded to shouts of shame from the audience: "You have to stand up for values, and whoever does not represent these values ​​can leave this country at any time if he does not agree, that is the freedom of every German." This sentence spread quickly on the Internet and made Lübcke a hate figure of rights. 

Murder of Walter Lübcke: Are the defendants from Kassel mutually incriminating?

Observers expect that the two accused friends Ernst and H. from Kassel will incriminate each other in court for the murder. Ernst's lawyer Mustafa Kaplan announced that his client would remain silent in court. Meanwhile, media representatives criticize the terms of the proceedings, the indictment spanning 322 pages and the files filling 240 Leitz files. 

In addition, the defenders filed a request for bias against the presiding judge at the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court on Tuesday . Lawyer Frank Hannig justified the request to stay the trial, inter alia, because health protection is not guaranteed due to the corona pandemic and public access to the process is severely restricted. The charges in the Walter Lübcke case could not be read out at first.

Corona measures in the process: Murder of Walter Lübcke near Kassel

Because of Corona, there are only 19 press spaces available in the hall. 40 other journalists can follow the murder process in another building via audio. The judge, Thomas Sagebiel, had refused to move to a larger room outside the Higher Regional Court for security reasons. 

There is a minimum distance of 1.5 meters in the auditorium and on the press box, and it is also mandatory to wear mouth-nose covers. The start of the process in the Walter Lübcke case is accompanied by rallies. In front of the courthouse there was, among other things, the "Open for Diversity" initiative, a regional association that campaigns in Kassel and northern Hesse against any exclusion of people in society.

Murder at Kassel: Walter Lübcke's family takes part in the trial

The wife and two sons of the murdered Walter Lübcke from the Kassel district also take part in the trial as co-plaintiffs. Dirk Metz, spokesman for the family, said before the start of the negotiation that the family had decided by mutual consent to appear at the start of the process: "Of course, the family weighed this up because they know that this is associated with the most severe emotional stress." 

The bereaved also wanted to send a “clear signal of solidarity” to her husband and father as well as a signal against hatred and violence after the murder . 

The process starts just over a year after the murder of Walter Lübcke near Kassel *: An overview of the actors involved in the mammoth trial.

Refugee Ahmad E. appears as a co-plaintiff in the murder trial of Walter Lübcke in Kassel *. His lawyer has a very special expectation of the trial.

* hna.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.