A 21-year-old is sentenced to life imprisonment for attacking a gay couple. In addition, the court orders preventive detention with reservations.
In the trial of the fatal knife attack on a gay couple in Dresden, the 21-year-old defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment. The court is convinced that the Syrian is guilty of murder, attempted murder and dangerous bodily harm, said the presiding judge at the Dresden Higher Regional Court, Hans Schlueter-Staats, on Friday. The State Security Senate also see a particular gravity of guilt.
In addition, preventive detention is ordered with reservations for the man, who is an Islamist threat known to the police – that is, he must be checked in due course. With this judgment, the senate at the Dresden Higher Regional Court followed the demands of the federal prosecutor’s office. The defense had pleaded for the application of the milder youth criminal law.
The Syrian described the course of events to a psychiatrist
The Syrian stabbed a gay couple in downtown Dresden on October 4, 2020, whom he believed he recognized as homosexuals. A 55-year-old died shortly afterwards in the hospital, his 53-year-old companion survived seriously injured.
According to the verdict, the defendant acted out of a radical Islamist and homophobic attitude. He described the course of events to a psychiatrist in prison. The trial began on April 12.
