Airport Helmut Schmidt
Kidnapping at Hamburg airport: charges filed against father of four-year-old
During the kidnapping, the police were constantly on duty on the tarmac at Hamburg airport
© AFP
A hostage taker caused a major alarm in Hamburg in autumn 2023. He kidnapped his daughter and drove to the airfield. He is accused of various crimes.
A good four months after the spectacular attempt to kidnap his four-year-old daughter At Hamburg Airport, the Hamburg Public Prosecutor’s Office has brought charges against the child’s father. The 35-year-old man with Turkish nationality was accused of taking hostages, kidnapping minors, intentional bodily harm and weapons offenses, the investigative authority announced on Thursday in the Hanseatic city. Charges were brought to the Hamburg regional court.
The man is said to have kidnapped his daughter from her mother’s apartment in Stade in the early evening of November 4th. He is then said to have driven to Hamburg Airport, broke through the three barriers of the north gate and drove onto the apron.
Man threw Molotov cocktails during kidnapping in Hamburg
According to the prosecution, he then threatened via the police emergency call that he was in possession of three bombs. He also threw two lit Molotov cocktails out of his car and fired several times into the air with a semi-automatic handgun.
Investigators are convinced that with this approach the man wanted to emphasize his demand for a plane with which he wanted to travel unhindered to Turkey. It wasn’t until the afternoon of the following day that the 35-year-old gave up, took off what he thought was an explosive vest and handed his daughter over to a police officer.
When he was arrested, police officers discovered a knife, 22 rounds of ammunition, an irritant spray device and a pistol loaded with a cartridge and with the safety lever on. During the operation, which lasted a total of 18 hours, all air traffic at Helmut Schmidt Airport was suspended.