Latest news with #Duesseldorf
Telegraph
3 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
I deserve a life sentence: Syrian admits triple murder at German festival
A Syrian man has said he 'deserves and expects a life sentence' after pleading guilty to killing three people at a German festival last year. Issa al-Hasan, 27, a suspected member of the Islamic State group, made the confession at the start of his trial, held under tight security in Duesseldorf. The attack at the mid-summer street festival in Solingen in August 2024, which also injured 10 people, was one in a series of attacks attributed to asylum seekers and migrants that pushed immigration to the top of the political agenda in Germany. Hasan was an asylum seeker from Syria who had been slated for deportation, but authorities had failed to remove him from the country. He is charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and membership of a foreign terrorist organisation. Sitting behind a protective glass screen, he admitted in a statement read by his lawyer that he had ' committed a grave crime '. 'Three people died at my hands. I seriously injured others,' Hasan said. 'Some of them survived only by luck. They could have died, too. 'I deserve and expect a life sentence.' Prosecutors say he set out to harm 'non-believers' at the 'festival for diversity'. He allegedly saw his targets 'as representatives of Western society' and sought 'to take revenge against them for the military actions of Western states'. IS later posted on messaging app Telegram that a 'soldier' had carried out the attack in 'revenge for Muslims in Palestine and everywhere'. Video footage allegedly showed Hasan pledging allegiance to IS. Prosecutors said he forwarded the tapes on to his IS contact just before he committed the attack. Hasan did not specifically address his alleged motivations for carrying out the attack or his supposed IS membership. A psychiatric expert told the court that the accused had denied being a radical Islamist. Two months before the attack in May 2024, a man with a knife attacked people at an anti-Islam rally in Mannheim, fatally wounding a police officer who intervened. The Afghan suspect went on trial in February and is also alleged to be sympathetic to the IS group. In December the same year, a Saudi man was arrested after a car ploughed through a Christmas market crowd in the eastern city of Magdeburg, killing six people and wounding hundreds. In January, a man with a kitchen knife attacked a group of children in Aschaffenburg, killing a two-year-old boy and a man who tried to protect the toddlers. A 28-year-old Afghan man was arrested at the scene of the attack, which came during campaigning for Feb 23 elections. Just 10 days before the vote, another Afghan man was arrested on suspicion of driving a car through a street rally in Munich, killing a two-year-old girl and her mother and injuring dozens. The centre-right CDU/CSU, which demanded tough curbs on immigration in the wake of the attacks, came first in the election with 28.5 per cent of the vote. But the biggest gains were made by the far-Right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which saw its share of the vote more than double to over 20 per cent.
Reuters
3 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Germany tries Syrian man over deadly stabbing that stoked migration debate
DUESSELDORF, Germany, May 27 (Reuters) - A Syrian man stood trial in Duesseldorf on Tuesday over a knife attack claimed by Islamic State in which three people were killed, a case that stirred debate over foreigner crime in Germany and paved the way for a crackdown on migration. The 27-year-old defendant, identified as Issa al H, is accused of swinging his knife at a crowd of revellers at a festival in the western town of Solingen last year, stabbing several people from behind. He faces three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder, and is also charged with membership in a foreign terrorist organisation. Issa al H admitted guilt on his first day in court, where he appeared in a blue jumpsuit with his head bowed before him, only raising his head occasionally. "I have brought heavy guilt upon myself," he said via a statement read by his attorney. He offered his apology to the relatives of the victims and said he was prepared to accept his punishment. He did not comment on the allegation that he committed the crime in coordination with the Islamic State militant group. If convicted, the defendant faces life imprisonment. The Solingen attack raised an outcry and drew calls for tough action against foreign perpetrators of violent crime in the run-up to Germany's February election, won by the conservatives under migration hardliner Friedrich Merz. His coalition government, which took office earlier this month, has closed Germany's borders to undocumented migrants and vowed to ramp up deportations to Syria and Afghanistan.
Arab News
3 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Germany tries Syrian man over deadly stabbing that stoked migration debate
DUESSELDORF: A Syrian man stood trial in Duesseldorf on Tuesday over a knife attack claimed by Islamic State in which three people were killed, a case that stirred debate over foreigner crime in Germany and paved the way for a crackdown on 27-year-old defendant, identified as Issa al H, is accused of swinging his knife at a crowd of revellers at a festival in the western town of Solingen last year, stabbing several people from faces three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder, and is also charged with membership in a foreign terrorist al H admitted guilt on his first day in court, where he appeared in a blue jumpsuit with his head bowed before him, only raising his head occasionally.'I have brought heavy guilt upon myself,' he said via a statement read by his offered his apology to the relatives of the victims and said he was prepared to accept his did not comment on the allegation that he committed the crime in coordination with the Islamic State militant convicted, the defendant faces life Solingen attack raised an outcry and drew calls for tough action against foreign perpetrators of violent crime in the run-up to Germany's February election, won by the conservatives under migration hard-liner Friedrich coalition government, which took office earlier this month, has closed Germany's borders to undocumented migrants and vowed to ramp up deportations to Syria and Afghanistan.
