Probably no crime in Germany has had such far-reaching consequences in the recent past: This Monday begins the trial of a young man who is said to have killed a 35-year-old in the late summer of 2018 in the Saxon city - what riots, strife and political Had distortions. The criminal case and the consequences at a glance:
What is accused to the defendant?
On the edge of the Chemnitz City Festival Alaa S. is said to have stabbed Daniel Hillig in the early morning of 26 August 2018 during a dispute with a knife. The 35-year-old died immediately after, another man was seriously injured in the back. "The accused accepted this at least approvingly, to kill the two victims fatally," said the prosecutor.
The prosecution accuses S. of joint manslaughter in majority of the crime with joint attempted manslaughter and dangerous bodily injury. The Syrian faces at least five years imprisonment in the event of a conviction, even a life sentence is possible. He has been in custody since the end of August (read more about the criminal case here).
DPA
Flowers and candles at the scene (August 2018)
Shortly before the trial, Alaa S. changed his public defender.
What other suspects were and are there in the case?
A second suspect is on the run: Farhad A. is said to have stabbed Daniel Hillig. The Iraqi has been seeking international arrest warrants for months. Recently, it became known that investigators in Iraq apparently looking for the man. The German authorities had sent a request for judicial assistance to the country, reported North, Central and West German radio and the "Süddeutsche Zeitung".
A third man was released after several weeks in custody for lack of evidence. The originally led as a suspect Iraqi later filed criminal charges against the competent prosecutor and a magistrate on suspicion of the right of way and deprivation of liberty: He was detained without urgent suspicion.
What is expected for the process?
The main trial, for which the court has scheduled nine days of negotiations, exceptionally takes place in Dresden. The jury court of the Chemnitz district court justified this with the "extremely large public interest" and the increased demands on the safeguarding of the process.
As a rule, state protection processes are conducted in the building of the Higher Regional Court. In the courtroom, among other things, high plexiglass windows separate the auditorium from the process, and there are specially secured locks for visitors and participants at the entrance.
There are fears that rights could use the process for parades. The defense of the accused warned against possible riots.
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Why did an arrest warrant reach the public?
Only a few days after the knife attack, a stir caused the spreading of the arrest warrant against a man who is no longer considered to be suspicious. A Dresdner judicial officer had illegally photographed and published the document, later it was thousands of times shared in the network - including a right-wing citizen of Bremen.
The originally responsible judicial officer was suspended from the service. Because of the incident, investigators also searched factions of the right-wing small party "Pro Chemnitz", whose boss Martin Kohlmann had played a central role in the context of the riots.
What is known about the indictment?
The defenders of Alaa S. are likely to go to court for alleged inconsistencies in the indictment. Several testimonies and findings seem contradictory, as the "time" reported in February. As a result, prosecutors believe that Alaa S. and Farhad A. are stabbing the victim with two knives at the same time, back and forth.
However, the indictment states that the two accused killed the victim with "the same murder weapon". In fact, according to the indictment, the investigators found only one knife with traces of the victim's blood. Further incriminating evidence such as DNA traces against Alaa S. is therefore not. In addition, the chief appellant had substantially revised his testimony in favor of Alaa S.
What happened after the fact in Chemnitz?
After Daniel Hillig's violent death, there were demonstrations and riots with in some cases several thousand participants, in which not only right-wing radicals and officials of AfD and Pegida but also members of a suspected terrorist cell should have been involved. The now battered group called "Revolution Chemnitz" is said to have planned attacks on non-whites and political opponents (read more about the background here).
In the weeks following the riots, there were also several attacks on restaurants - on a Jewish, a Persian and a Turkish restaurant. In addition, unknown people spoke a bomb threat against a concert of the left punk band fine cream fish fillet, which was then interrupted.
But there were also several counter-demonstrations and open-air concerts against racism and violence.
As a result of the events, a fundamental debate about far-right structures in the region set in, which was recently rekindled by incidents in the stadium of Chemnitzer FC. There, the club had a memorial service for a deceased neo-Nazi allows (learn more about the case).
What were the consequences of the riots?
Several extreme right-wing participants of the riots had to condemn themselves in court in the weeks after the events - mainly because of the showing of the Hitler salute. Several defendants were convicted in summary proceedings.
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Right-wing extremism in Saxony: Chaostage in ChemnitzThe political consequences were more serious: The incidents plunged the government into a serious crisis, at the end of which the Chiefs of Defense Hans-Georg Maaßen had to leave his post. Among other things, the president of the intelligence service had publicly expressed doubts about the events during the riots.
Due to the riots and controversy visited, among others, Family Minister Franziska Giffey and Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier the city, Chancellor Angela Merkel was even there twice.