Shooting trial
“Mafia-Toni”, the machete and the surprising acquittal for Ali Abou-Chaker
The trial against Ali Abou Chaker took place before the Berlin Regional Court
© Sonja Wurtscheid / DPA
Ali Abou Chaker is said to have threatened a man with several weapons over a poker debt. But at the trial before the Berlin regional court, the judge came to a different verdict.
The Berlin regional court has acquitted Ali Abou-Chaker, 49, of the charge of attempted aggravated extortion. The prosecutor’s custody had the older brother of Arafat Abou-Chaker accused. Her accusation: He and two other men tried to collect gambling debts from a man in Berlin-Kreuzberg by making threats and “holding various weapons.”
“The court was unable to establish any criminal facts,” said presiding judge Kristin Klimke in her verdict on Monday. There is no concrete threat to prove attempted predatory blackmail. The defendant should therefore be acquitted and is entitled to compensation.
The background to the trial is a spectacular shooting at Christmas 2020 in a commercial yard in Berlin-Kreuzberg. That winter night, Italian citizen Oliviero “Toni” V. fired 13 shots from his pistol – including at Ali Abou-Chaker, from close range and from behind. He was hit in the back and, like two other greats from the clan milieu, was seriously injured. Surveillance cameras documented the event.
“Mafia Toni” vs. Ali Abou Chaker
The then 30-year-old shooter, known locally as “Mafia Toni”, was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison for attempted murder in mid-2021. Ali Abou-Chaker was a co-plaintiff at the time. In a second trial on the bloody Kreuzberg Night, he himself sat in the dock.
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In his trial, “Mafia Toni” testified in detail why he shot: out of “self-defense,” as he claimed. Abou-Chaker and his cronies massively threatened him and asked him to pay off a 4,000 euro poker debt. Armed with a 50 centimeter long machete, a Glock pistol and pepper spray, they insulted him, beat him and threatened him with torture and death. With sentences like: “We’ll take you with us if you pay”, “you’ll go in the trunk”, “we’ll cut off your hands”.
Abou Chaker denies allegations in the trial
Co-plaintiff Ali Abou Chaker was not heard as a witness in the trial against “Mafia-Toni”. But now he testified extensively in court as a defendant. “I didn’t threaten Toni, I didn’t blackmail her, and I certainly didn’t use a machete.” He and his friends carried the weapons for self-protection. In the poker cellar an agreement was reached with the debtor and they shook hands.
The court now largely followed Ali Abou-Chaker’s account and viewed his machete as “self-protection”. The following events in the commercial yard, which were documented by cameras, did not suggest that there was a threat at all. The defendants did not run towards the shooter, “the machete was not used as a threat.” And with his statement, the shooter V., i.e. “Mafia Toni”, wanted to avoid appearing as a cold-blooded murderer. At least that’s what the judge said. “But he’s not a witness you can rely on.”
The verdict is not yet legally binding. Prosecutor Julia Köpcke is considering filing an appeal. The acquitted Ali Abou-Chaker must remain in custody for the time being anyway: the police have been investigating him since a fight with several people at a Neukölln sports bar in March 2023 – including for threats with weapons.