process
Suspended sentence after fatal blow on football field
A teenager has been sentenced to a suspended sentence of two years because of a fatal altercation after a soccer tournament. photo
© Helmut Fricke/dpa
A fight after a soccer game ends fatally for 15-year-old Paul. After eight days of trial, the verdict for the attacker has now been determined.
With a green folder in front of his face and pulled low over his face The teenager left court room 10 of the Frankfurt regional court on Thursday afternoon.
After eight days of trial, the verdict for the 17-year-old has now been determined: the chamber found him guilty of intentional bodily harm and bodily harm resulting in death. “For this reason, a standard juvenile sentence of two years will be imposed on him, the execution of which will be suspended on probation,” the court said. The verdict is not yet legally binding.
After a youth soccer tournament in Frankfurt last year, the 17-year-old fatally injured a 15-year-old boy from Berlin. Since the end of January he has had to answer before the 3rd Large Youth Chamber for bodily harm resulting in death.
He has been in custody in Germany since May – now he is released. “It was a very complicated criminal case and I am glad that the court proceedings were fair and my client is now free,” his lawyer Seyed Iranbomy told the German Press Agency.
The public prosecutor’s office had demanded two years and three months in juvenile detention, and the co-prosecution agreed with the request. The convicted man’s two defense attorneys each argued for a suspended sentence and for the arrest warrant to be lifted with a youth sentence of one year and nine months respectively. The victim’s parents primarily hoped that the trial would provide answers. They have now received one, as their representative René Lau explains: “You now know that there is someone who is responsible for the death of your son.” This stage is now over, but: “the parents are nibbling on it a lot.”
Trial in camera
On Whit Monday last year there was a fight between players from a German and French team after an international soccer tournament in Frankfurt. According to the prosecution, the then 16-year-old defendant is said to have hit the 15-year-old Berliner in the cheek or neck. The teenager then collapsed. Severe brain injuries were diagnosed in the hospital. Three days after the incident, the 15-year-old was declared brain dead. As an organ donor, he became a lifesaver for others after his death.
Paul, that’s the victim’s first name. The defendant’s name is not mentioned, and his name is not even listed in abbreviated form on the notice in front of the hall, as is usual. Even the lawyers are only referred to as “NN”. The trial took place completely behind closed doors. According to the law, this is always the case if the proceedings are directed exclusively against a young person, as the focus in juvenile proceedings is on the idea of education.
A tough day in the process
The hearing continued on Thursday morning under the chairmanship of Judge Moritz von Schenck. Shortly before 10 a.m. the closing arguments were read out. The verdict proved to be a challenging matter. “It’s very difficult,” said a defender of the teenager during a short break from the dpa. The verdict followed more than four hours after the hearing continued.
“I thought more about Paul than about myself,” the defendant told his lawyer Iranbomy. In the closing statement, the defendant particularly expressed his regret, reported court spokesman Daniel Trosch.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, 18 witnesses and three experts were questioned during the course of the trial as part of the taking of evidence. In particular, players and supervisors from both teams were invited, which is why most of the witnesses were minors.
An uncle was on site as the defendant’s family representative. He and other relatives were still hoping for an acquittal shortly before the announcement, he said in an interview with dpa in front of the closed rooms of the hall. He didn’t want to give his name. After the verdict he had tears in his eyes. With Paul’s death, two families were destroyed, he says. “It’s two families that are suffering.” But he is happy about the verdict – especially because of the boy’s future.
Press release