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The tension is high this Monday, March 18, at the beginning of the trial of a young Syrian accused of homicide in Chemnitz, in the region of Dresden, stronghold of the extreme right. The murder in late August sparked unprecedented racist violence in Germany.
With our correspondent in Berlin, Pascal Thibaut
It is a high voltage trial which opened this Monday, March 18 in Dresden, Germany. A Syrian refugee is tried for murdering a young German who died in Chemnitz at the end of August during a brawl between several people. This death had given rise to far-right demonstrations in the days that followed.
" Have you participated in demonstrations of the Pegida or Pro Chemnitz anti-migrant movements ? Are you a member or supporter of the far-right Alternative Party for Germany ? Have you spoken publicly about the migration crisis ? So many questions that the lawyer of the accused has from the opening of the trial to the judges, claiming that his client is tried in another German region, for fear of a possible bias of judges or the pressure of public opinion about these.
Adjourned trial
The case against Syrian refugee Alaa Sheikhi has been adjourned until these questions from his lawyer have been clarified. They show the state of tension that reigns in the region after the murder in late August Daniel H. Chemnitz that had given rise in the following days to demonstrations and excesses organized by the extreme right. These images shocked Germany and went around the world.
More than six months later, the tension remains palpable. Elections will be held in Saxony on 1 September in this stronghold of the extreme right. Several hundred hooligans involved in the clashes last summer gathered on Monday to bury one of their leaders. The mayor of Chemnitz wanted a conviction to be handed down, but the outcome of the trial is unclear because of the tenuous evidence against Alaa Sheikhi.