Prosecutor for imprisonment without parole
Previously, the prosecutor had demanded a year and month imprisonment without parole. She emphasized the fact that the crime was clearly anti-Semitic.
The defense attorney, however, had requested an acquittal. In his plea, he emphasized that the act could not be conclusively assigned to his client. It is unclear how the stone with the Lower Saxony’s DNA trace got in front of the restaurant and who actually threw the stones.
DNA convicted defendants
The investigators found the man with multiple criminal records because a DNA trace on one of the stones matched the DNA of the 30-year-old. Other suspected participants in the attack could not be caught. It seems obvious that the defendant was involved in the act, said judge Dominik Börner in his judgment. The defendant also agreed to take part in the right-wing extremist marches in Chemnitz in 2018. That can be seen from a chat history. The act fits into his political worldview. The defendant was also aware of the victim’s Jewish background.
Defendant did not comment
The 30-year-old said nothing about the allegations on Thursday. The court heard witnesses and the restaurant operator. He testified that he routinely went outside his restaurant on the evening of August 27, 2018 to see if everything was okay.
Victim looked into eyes full of hatred
Shortly afterwards he felt a thud on the shoulder. There was a bang around him. Previously, he had seen a group of people dressed in dark, “a black crowd”. Some of the attackers were standing on the street directly in front of the “Schalom”. “It felt like a hundred people, in real terms between ten to twelve people,” said the operator. You would have “Judensau” and “Get out!” called. Some of them were masked. He could still remember eyes that were full of hatred, said the landlord.
The operator of the “Schalom” is a long-established Chemnitz. His restaurant had also been attacked several times before. A witness who was sitting in the Jewish restaurant at the time of the attack also reported a loud bang. When she wanted to see what was going on, the landlord pushed her back in and said: “Go in, it’s no fun!”