[ad_1]
The verdict must fall today in the trial against the murderer of Halle. But from the start, this extraordinary trial was more than the sentence.
By Marie-Kristin Landes and Roland Jäger, MDR
For Saxony-Anhalt, it is one of the most important court cases ever tried in this state. The verdict will come to an end today, after a total of 26 days of negotiations. With this, the legal process of the attack ends on October 9, 2019, but not the social one. The trial was extraordinary for many reasons: the act to be negotiated, its size, but especially the way it was carried out.
Appeals against anti-Semitism and racism
45 joint plaintiffs had joined the prosecution’s indictment. All were given the opportunity to speak for themselves during the trial. Many used this to repeatedly draw attention to the fact that anti-Semitism and racism are commonplace in Germany and a problem for society as a whole. They demand serious consequences for the act, and not a return to normalcy.
No stage for the perpetrator
From the beginning, Halle’s trial also focused on the question: How to treat the perpetrator? With the start of the trial on July 21, 2020, many media followed the request of those affected not to give the perpetrator a stage, not to show his face in images and not to spread his name.
On Yom Kippur 2019, the then 27-year-old tried to kill Jews for anti-Semitic, racist and right-wing extremist reasons. He broadcast his action live on the Internet. 52 people were in the Halle synagogue that day to celebrate the most important Jewish holiday together. After he failed to break into the synagogue, first passerby Jana L., then 20-year-old Kevin S., fired at a nearby bar. In his flight he drove the Somali Aftax. I. While trying to blackmail a new getaway vehicle, he shot two people and seriously wounded them.
Mercilessly
The killer had already made a partial confession at the beginning of the trial. He showed no remorse. As a supporter of the “ideology of white supremacy”, he is convinced that there is a “white race” and that it is superior to others. He explicitly said that he wanted to kill people of the Jewish or Muslim faith, as well as black people, if he got another chance. He justified his act with pieces from the conspiracy story of the so-called Great Exchange.
Over and over again he tried to speak openly anti-Semitic and racist and to deny the Holocaust. He also tried several times to irritate those affected on the witness stand, holding pieces of paper that they, but not the court, could read or silently molding words with their lips. His behavior was characterized by a lack of empathy throughout the process. When questioned, he generally reacted with contempt and arrogance.
The psychiatric expert found he had a complex personality disorder, but Halle’s killer was not kidding himself. He was able to consciously control his actions, which is demonstrated by the long and meticulous preparation of the act. According to the report, he is totally guilty and is still dangerous.
He acted alone, but he is not a lone perpetrator
It is not yet clear to what extent there were those who knew or who could have supported the crime. Halle’s killer acted only on October 9, 2019, but he is not a lone perpetrator. As the experts in court have shown: Their ideology is fed by a worldwide network of like-minded people linked to the Internet. It had been radicalized on the relevant image boards. He expressly said that he wanted to encourage copycats; he himself stated that the attack in Christchurch, New Zealand in March 2019 was a trigger for his own act.
But the BKA could not fully explain who it was in contact with on the Internet. Analysis of thousands of files found on the computer and other storage media revealed gaps in knowledge. A BKA investigator admitted that he did not recognize the basic symbols of the right-wing extremist scene. The image board attack was found to be discussed and shared by anonymous users. However, nobody at the BKA secured and evaluated this communication with screenshots.
Weapons in the nursery
It was not possible to finally clarify in the process what role the family and the social environment played. The family exercised their right to refuse to testify. Many co-plaintiffs doubt that the family did not understand the perpetrator’s mental attitude and preparations. After leaving college, the killer had lived with his mother for the past several years. He built and tested his weapons in the shed of his father’s house. They were stored in the nursery.
Defense already announces review
In its pleading of several hours on November 18, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office described the Halle attack as one of the “most repulsive anti-Semitic acts” since World War II. The murderer was guilty of homicide in two cases, of attempted homicide in four coincident cases, and of attempted homicide against 51 people. In addition, there was attempted murder in two other cases, serious predatory extortion, negligent bodily injury and bodily injury.
The federal prosecution demands life in prison for Halle’s killer. Furthermore, a particular gravity of guilt must be determined and subsequent preventive detention ordered. So she demands the maximum penalty. Most of the representatives of the accessory prosecution agreed in their allegations.
The defense also stated in its plea that many of the charges were well founded. However, he speaks of reduced criminal responsibility and values the attack on the synagogue as an assassination attempt, which his client has renounced. According to the defense, he had no opportunity to carry out his intentions due to the closed door of the synagogue. Although he may have tried to break into the synagogue, he refrained from trying. From a defense point of view, there is no evidence of a failed attempt.
If the court judged the attack on the believers in the synagogue as an assassination attempt, the defense announced that it would appeal and take them to the Federal Court of Justice.
