A Syrian man has been given a life sentence by a court in Düsseldorf for a stabbing incident with terrorist motives. The German court announced this on Monday. The incident took place in May last year in the city of Bielefeld in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Source: BELGA
During a party in front of a bar, the man stabbed four people, seriously injuring them. The attacker allegedly shouted “Allahu akbar”, according to the chairman of the court. The man will now receive the maximum sentence, as the public prosecutor had demanded.
The court found the 36-year-old man guilty of four attempted murders. The court was of the opinion that these were particularly serious facts. The man was also ordered to be made available. He is said to have pursued jihadist goals with the attack.
The suspect is said to have no sense of empathy for the victims. Due to his radical Islamic beliefs, the Syrian is still said to be dangerous. The defense had pointed out the suspect’s difficult childhood and the depression that a psychiatric expert had diagnosed in him.
The four victims had stated during the trial that they were still suffering from the attack.
Half brother
The suspect had admitted the act in his closing statement during the trial. In pre-trial detention he had said that he had already killed two people in Syria, including his half-brother, on behalf of the terrorist group Islamic State (IS).
According to the prosecutor, the 36-year-old had been active in the ranks of IS in Syria for years before he was arrested by Kurdish units and imprisoned for eight months. He came to Germany in 2023.
According to the psychiatric expert, the suspect has been deeply radicalized. In Germany his psychological condition deteriorated after family reunification was stopped, he had not found work and had not learned German. He had also refused to participate in a deradicalization program.
