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The defendant in the Halle trial denies the Holocaust
| Reading time: 2 minutes
Stephan Balliet is charged with 13 criminal offenses, including murder and attempted murder.
Source: dpa / Ronny Hartmann
Stephan Balliet gives his closing lecture for just three minutes, then the judge cuts him off: The man said to have tried to kill Jews in the Halle synagogue previously denied the Holocaust.
reThe defendant at the trial of the right-wing terrorist attack in Halle interrupted his closing speech after a few minutes. In his last words, Stephan Balliet again denied the Holocaust on Wednesday before the Higher Regional Court (OLG) in Naumburg after about three minutes into his lecture. The attorneys for the secondary prosecution immediately protested aloud, the presiding judge Ursula Mertens interrupted the defendant. “This is a crime, you should sit back down,” shouted attorney Alexander Hoffmann, the court’s attorney.
“I explained that you should not repeat that,” Mertens told the defendant, who had already denied the Holocaust several times. The defendant then interrupted his presentation. He had already denied the Holocaust during the trial. Mertens interrupted the session and again gave the defendant a chance to have a final word, but he declined to speak.
Previously, he had re-presented crude anti-Semitic, racist and anti-feminist conspiracy narratives and described the trial against him as a show trial. His defense had previously expressly praised the fair trial and expressed deep regret for the victims and the bereaved. The defense asked the court to give a “fair trial.” Mertens plans to announce the verdict on December 21.
On October 9, 2019, a terrorist attempted to kill 51 people who were celebrating Yom Kippur, the highest Jewish holiday in the Halle synagogue. He missed the huge gate, then shot passerby Jana L. and then Kevin S in a kebab shop. In the subsequent escape he injured other people. The trial has been taking place before the Higher Regional Court (OLG) in Naumburg since July, but due to lack of space it is taking place in Magdeburg.
German Stephan Balliet, 28, confessed to the crimes and justified them with anti-Semitic, racist and anti-feminist conspiracy theories. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office calls for life imprisonment with subsequent preventive detention and the determination of the particular gravity of the guilt;
