Young leftists had beaten trade unionists of the right-wing “Zentrum Automobil” – one victim was in a coma. For this, the two defendants have to be imprisoned for a few years.
The Stuttgart Regional Court sentenced one of the two defendants to a prison term of five years and six months on Wednesday morning. The second defendant received four years and six months’ imprisonment. The men assigned to the left scene were guilty of dangerous bodily harm, serious bodily harm and breach of the peace in a particularly serious case. The judge said the case was “a very sad one”. The two young defendants were ideologically blinded and had committed a serious crime. The trial took place in the high-security courthouse in Stuttgart-Stammheim. The two young men are said to have attacked members of the right-wing union “Zentrum Automobil” from a group of black-hooded people. Three men were injured, one of them life-threatening. The man was in a coma for some time.
The act occurred on May 16, 2020 in the context of a “lateral thinking” demonstration on the Cannstatter Wasen against corona measures, to which the three attacked were on their way. According to a witness, the victim, who was badly injured in the head, is also said to have worn a brass knuckles. The man had denied that.
Prosecutors demanded several years’ imprisonment for defendants
The Stuttgart public prosecutor had demanded five and six years’ imprisonment for the two defendants for dangerous serious bodily harm and breach of the peace. DNA traces were cited as crucial evidence. These were seized from a glove of one of the defendants and assigned to the victim, who was seriously injured in the head. A hair of the second defendant was found on an irritant gas pistol, which, according to witness statements, was also used as a striking weapon in the act.
The defendants’ defense lawyers had doubted that this was a sufficient basis for a conviction. They saw improper handling of evidence and the possibility of the resulting transfer of evidence by police officers. The lawyers had therefore demanded acquittal.
Sympathizers are demanding the release of the two defendants in front of the court building in Stuttgart-Stammheim before the verdict is pronounced.
dpa Bildfunk
picture alliance / dpa / Bernd Weißbrod
Politically explosive trial before the regional court
Both the accused and the victims were supported by political groups. Antifa groups rated as “left-wing extremist” by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution regularly carried out solidarity campaigns for the two young men. The Stuttgart branch of the so-called Rote Hilfe eV was also committed to the defendants.
The victims are said to have close contacts with the right-wing extremist scene. The “Zentrum Automobil” had launched a call for donations to seize the perpetrators and support the most seriously injured man. The rest of the money was to flow into a “foundation for victims of left-wing extremist violence”. The lawyer for one of the victims is a former AfD local politician. He was assigned to the “wing” group within the AfD, which had been classified as right-wing extremist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. It has meanwhile dissolved.