"You never stop learning," says Volker S.'s defense attorney after listening to the psychiatric expert on the third and final day of the hearing, who has just presented a pointed character study of his client.

The 56-year-old defendant, who has to answer to the Idar-Oberstein District Court in the “Cophunter Trial”, is accused of having approved of the murders of two police officers near Kusel at the end of January and even having called for copycat acts – especially in In the form of two videos he posted to his Facebook account, in which he offered to lure police officers onto a dirt road for "cop hunters" to shoot them down.

Eve sleeper

Editor in the "Life" department of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.

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The terminology that astounded Defense Counsel is "Pseudologia phantastica".

In addition to this urge for pathological exaggeration, the psychiatrist also found the accused's urge to exaggerate himself.

He feels good when he can scold others.

For many years he has repeatedly felt that he was treated unfairly.

Other terms she uses for S. are "paranoid", "dissocial", "narcissistic", "querulous".

This led to 20 prior convictions between 1982 and 2008.

However, she could not diagnose the accused with a severe personality disorder.

He is capable of insight and control.

After the expert, the public prosecutor holds his plea.

He calls the defendant's world view "confused and distorted".

He rejects the defense's attempt to dismiss the accused's statements as "comedy" and calls for a sentence that cannot be suspended.

The defense replies that what his client posted – for example a short message the day after the two videos in which he announced that he had registered his cophunting service with the trade office – should be understood as satire?

In addition, S. did not give any direct instructions, i.e. neither said where the "event" should take place, nor when.

"As disgusting as the statements made by the accused are, they do not constitute a criminal offence."

Volker S. has the last word.

He explains that he did not want to discredit and meet anyone.

He never assumed that the postings on his account would have a single-digit number of followers.

To add that he could have reached millions of followers through other platforms.

The court sees the criminal offenses of insult, disparagement, request and approval as fulfilled and imposes a prison sentence of one year and eight months without probation.

S. announced in the courtroom that he would appeal.