Halle synagogue trial: Germany sentences attacker to life imprisonment

A German court on December 22 convicted the right-wing extremist who led an attack on a synagogue last year on Yom Kippur, in one of the worst anti-Semitic assaults in Germany. The 28-year-old defendant was handed life imprisonment sentence for the brutal murder of two people in the eastern city of Halle as he barged into the synagogue, shooting along the way. According to sources of DW, the assailant was on trial for 60 counts of attempted murder and was given the maximum sentence that the German law allowed.

Judge Ursula Mertens condemned the attack as ‘cruel’ and dastardly, adding that she was at loss for words. The far-right antisemitic extremist killed a 20-year-old defenseless Kevin S. at a kebab shop ahead of a mass shooting on Oct. 9. The judge cited Kevin's murder in the court of law calling the defendant a “danger to humanity”. She further denounced the attack saying that while at 27, the attacker conjured conspiracy theories in his childhood bedroom confinement and indulged in crime, the victim, who he killed, worked hard, had a job, played football, and was a qualified young man with no criminal record. According to an AP report, the local broadcaster NTV streamed the assailant Stephan Balliet’s defense to the presiding judge in the court as, “Jews are the main cause of white genocide, and want to establish a new world order.” The prosecutor derided his ideology. 

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[Accused Stephan Balliet, center, sits next to his lawyers Hans-Dieter Weber, left, and Thomas Rutkowski in the regional court at the beginning of the trial in Magdeburg, Germany. Credit: AP]

[Candles, a funeral wreath, and pictures of the victims of the terrorist attack in Halle stand on a green area in front of the Magdeburg, Germany. Credit: AP]

[Trial observers and journalists stand before the Regional Court in Magdeburg. Credit: AP]

The attacker aimed to shoot 51

Balliet was denied an appeal as per the German law system. Federal prosecutors had earlier asked the court to convict the killer on charges of murder, attempted murder, incitement to hatred, and attempted violent extortion. He went on trial in July at Naumburg state court where lawmakers called the crime “seriously culpable” that could lead to a minimum of 15-year imprisonment. The attacker had admitted to an attempt to kill 51 people inside after he shot at the second victim, a 40-year-old woman outside the main synagogue building. 

[A convoy of police and justice vehicles drives with flashing blue light and siren to the Magdeburg, Germany. Credit: AP]

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