The federal prosecutor’s office is accusing the suspect, a “Palestinian citizen” who grew up in Syria, of attempted murder, among other things.
On November 6, 2021, the then 27-year-old is said to have suddenly attacked four men on the long-distance train from Passau to Hamburg between Regensburg and Nuremberg (Bavaria), seriously injuring several of them. He allegedly approached a seated passenger from behind and stabbed him eight times in the head, neck and chest.
In reading the indictment, federal prosecutor Silke Ritzert said the accused had “radical Islamist beliefs.” By randomly killing non-Muslims, he wanted to contribute to global jihad – he wanted to put this into practice with the knife attack on the ICE.
From the defense point of view, however, the central question is whether the man is really a jihadist – and how his mental state should be assessed at the time of the crime. There are several reports about this, some of which are very contradictory in substance, one of the defense lawyers had already explained before the trial started. That is why four psychiatric experts appeared at the start of the trial on Friday. The suspect initially declined to comment on the allegations.
The reading of the indictment was initially delayed because the suspect, who is currently being treated with psychotropic drugs, complained of fatigue and therefore had to be questioned. However, the experts declared him fit to stand trial.
The 6th Senate Criminal Justice Senate has initially scheduled 24 days of hearings until December 23, 2022.
(SDA)