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It was one of the worst anti-Semitic crimes in postwar German history. Now the Naumburg higher regional court has imposed the maximum sentence in the process of the right-wing terrorist attack in Halle an der Saale. The defendant Stephan Balliet was sentenced to life imprisonment with subsequent remand in Magdeburg.
The verdict was issued for, among others, double homicide, attempted multiple homicide and sedition. The court also determined the particular gravity of the guilt, which means that early release after 15 years is practically impossible. An appeal may be lodged with the Federal Court of Justice against the sentence.
It was a “cowardly attack,” said Chief Justice Ursula Mertens when the verdict was delivered. The defendant had relativized his actions and motives in many places. With the verdict, Mertens and the other four judges followed the demands of the Federal Prosecutor’s Office and the accessory accusation. The defense had not requested any other sentencing in its guilty plea.
On October 9, 2019, the perpetrator attempted to kill more than 50 people who were celebrating Yom Kippur, the highest Jewish holiday in the Halle synagogue. He threw incendiary devices and explosives and fired at the access door, but did not enter the premises. In front of the synagogue, he murdered 40-year-old passerby Jana L. and at a nearby kebab shop, 20-year-old Kevin S.
In his escape, the man shot police officers, drove his getaway car towards a black man and shot a man and a woman in a town near Halle after they refused to give him their car. In a workshop, the then 27-year-old blackmailed a taxi that the police were able to locate with the help of the taxi driver. Later, the police arrested him.
The largest criminal case in the history of Saxony-Anhalt
The trial had been held before the OLG Naumburg since July, but for security and space reasons it was held in Magdeburg. The 28-year-old defendant had confessed to the crimes and justified them with anti-Semitic, racist and anti-feminist conspiracy theories.
The trial is the largest criminal case in the history of Saxony-Anhalt. The court questioned a total of 79 witnesses and 15 experts during a 25-day trial. 45 survivors and grieving families joined the accessory prosecution and were represented by 23 attorneys.
The final survivor conferences lasted only three days into the trial, with many speaking at the same time or earlier on the witness stand. Almost all reported on the serious psychological consequences of the crime.
