Trial after alleged racist assault

Created: 2022-10-04Updated: 2022-10-04 15:59

A copy of the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure stand in a courtroom.

© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa/symbol image

A lawsuit against a right-wing extremist known to the police has begun in a Berlin court because of an alleged racist knife attack and other allegations.

The 29-year-old is said to have racially insulted a Jamaican man in July 2021 and stabbed him in the neck.

One of the two defense attorneys announced on Tuesday that his client would comment at a later date.

Berlin – There are two charges against the accused, who was in custody from July to December 2021, relating to alleged criminal offenses from September 2018.

In one case, the 29-year-old is said to have attacked a group with like-minded people in the Neukölln district that had previously been in a left-wing scene bar.

Several attacked were injured by punches and kicks.

In May 2019, the accused gave the Hitler salute in front of the memorial to the Sinti and Roma murdered under National Socialism.

According to investigations, the 29-year-old is said to have initially spoken to a group on the night of July 4 last year.

When the witnesses declared that they would "not chill with Nazis," the accused gave the Nazi salute.

A few hours later, a fight broke out between him and a Jamaican in front of a snack bar.

Both would hit each other with their fists.

After that, the accused used a knife "out of hatred for people with dark skin color" and only just missed the victim's carotid artery.

The public prosecutor accuses the 29-year-old of dangerous bodily harm, particularly serious breach of the peace and using license plates of unconstitutional organizations.

According to investigations, the accused refrained from further attacks after the stabbing and asked an uninvolved person to alert the police.

The trial will resume on October 13.

dpa