Magdeburg attacker appeals against life sentence
The man who killed six people in a ramming attack on Magdeburg's Christmas market does not accept the verdict. His defence team has filed an appeal.
Magdeburg attacker appeals against life sentence
The 51-year-old, who drove a vehicle onto the Christmas market in the Saxony-Anhalt state capital in December of last year, causing multiple deaths, will not accept the verdict handed down against him. His lawyers have filed an appeal with the competent court, according to a spokesman for the judicial authorities. The highest court for criminal matters in Karlsruhe must now examine the case for possible procedural or legal errors.
In late June of this year, the criminal chamber in Magdeburg sentenced the defendant in several hundred cases of homicide. In addition to imposing a life sentence, it was also established that the guilt is of a particularly serious nature. This determination makes early release after serving the minimum sentence practically impossible.
The defendant, who is from Saudi Arabia and was working as a psychiatric physician in a secure institution at the time of the offence, drove a rented high-performance vehicle through a breach in the barriers onto the crowded marketplace on 20 December 2024. The attack killed five adult women and a nine-year-old boy, with numerous other people suffering serious injuries.
The judges assessed the defendant as extremely dangerous. According to presiding judge Dirk Sternberg, the man showed no empathy towards his victims during the attack. He could activate or deactivate his empathic ability almost at will. A forensic psychiatrist diagnosed him with narcissistic personality disorder. There were no doubts about his full criminal responsibility.
Source: n-tv
Source: n-tv