Crime: Trial after death trip in Berlin begins in February

crime
Trial after death trip in Berlin begins in February

A car stands in the shop window of a shop on Tauentzienstrasse in Berlin after driving into a group of people. photo

© Christoph Soeder/dpa

A man races into groups of pedestrians on Berlin’s Ku’damm. A woman dies, many people are injured. A school class from Hesse is particularly affected. Now the case comes before the court.

Eight months after the death drive in downtown Berlin with one dead and numerous seriously injured, the alleged perpetrator comes before the court. The trial is scheduled for February 7 at the Berlin Regional Court, a court spokeswoman for the German Press Agency said.

The Berlin public prosecutor’s office accuses the 29-year-old of completed “treacherous murder” and 16 attempted murders. On June 8, 2022, the man is said to have driven a car into pedestrian groups on Ku’damm and Tauentzienstrasse. A school class from Hesse was particularly affected.

The 29-year-old has been in a forensic hospital since then. According to the public prosecutor’s office, a preliminary psychiatric report suggests that the man is not guilty. In a so-called security procedure, the authority is seeking to place the man in a psychiatric hospital if it is proven in the process that he was innocent at the time of the crime. Otherwise it is to be feared that he will commit further dangerous acts without treatment.

Fateful day in June

On that day in June, the 29-year-old is said to have deliberately driven into the group of students. A 51-year-old teacher was killed. A colleague and twelve students between the ages of 14 and 17 were injured, some critically.

The perpetrator then continued driving and drove unabated across the junction with Marburger Strasse onto the opposite sidewalk. There he caught two men and a pregnant woman and also seriously injured them. Finally, the man with the vehicle crashed into the window of a perfume shop.

Many of those affected will have to testify as witnesses in the process. According to the court, eleven of them are also involved as joint plaintiffs. For the first day of the hearing, however, the responsible 22nd criminal chamber has not yet invited any witnesses, said the spokeswoman.

dpa

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