justice
Knife attack in Chemnitz: Suspect suspected in Türkiye
Flowers and candles are laid at the crime scene in downtown Chemnitz. photo
© Jan Woitas/dpa
In August 2018, an asylum seeker stabbed the German Daniel H.; in fact, massive protests and racist attacks follow. An accomplice is said to have fled abroad. How is the situation today?
Five years after the violent death of 35-year-old Daniel H. on the sidelines of the Chemnitz city festival, one of the perpetrators is still at large. The alleged accomplice is being searched internationally, said senior public prosecutor Wolfgang Klein of the German Press Agency. “We suspect him in the Türkiye.”
But the country refuses to extradite him. Apparently he now has Turkish citizenship. Outside the EU, it is not usual for one’s own nationals to be handed over to the judiciary of other countries. The warrant issued for his arrest reads as manslaughter. According to the public prosecutor’s office in Chemnitz, the statute of limitations only expires after 20 years.
Neo-Nazis, football hooligans, previously inconspicuous citizens
The German Daniel H. was stabbed to death on August 26, 2018 in a dispute with asylum seekers on the street. Massive protests then broke out in Chemnitz, with neo-Nazis and football hooligans demonstrating side by side with previously inconspicuous citizens. In addition, a right-wing extremist terrorist group was founded. There were racist attacks and an attack on a Jewish restaurant. The dispute over the question of whether there had been “hunts” became a crucial test for the then grand coalition at the federal level. As a result, the President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Hans-Georg Maassen, lost his position.
Despite numerous legal proceedings, the legal work-up has not yet been fully completed five years later. At the end of the year, a trial against nine defendants is scheduled at the Chemnitz Regional Court, who are said to have attacked participants in the “Heart instead of Hetze” rally on September 1, 2019. They are accused of breach of the peace and dangerous bodily harm in several cases.
Right-wing violence is traumatic for those affected
André Loescher, who advises those affected by right-wing violence in Chemnitz, draws a mixed balance with regard to the legal work-up. While the terrorist group “Revolution Chemnitz” was quickly investigated and convicted, in other cases those affected were still waiting for a trial. That’s why they could not put an end to the events that were traumatic for them to this day, says Loescher.
In the case of the violent death of Daniel H. himself, the Chemnitz Regional Court passed a verdict in August 2019 and sentenced a then 24-year-old Syrian to nine and a half years in prison for manslaughter and dangerous bodily harm. The court was convinced that he and the escaped accomplice stabbed the 35-year-old to death. The judgment is final.