More than six months after the racist attack on a 17-year-old Syrian in an Erfurt tram, the accused was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison.
The district court in the Thuringian capital found the 41-year-old German guilty of dangerous bodily harm on Tuesday.
He also has to pay the co-plaintiff € 5,000.
"It is indescribable what actually happened there," said the judge.
The act was clearly to be classified as racist, as the testimony, but also the video that was circulating on social media, proved, according to the judge.
The public prosecutor's office had demanded a higher prison sentence for the accused, the defense a significantly lower sentence.
According to the indictment, the man had repeatedly hit and kicked his victim in the face in a tram in April and racially insulted him “in the worst possible way”.
He is also said to have destroyed the 17-year-old Syrian's cell phone and forced the tram driver to continue.
The accused, who had many previous convictions for property crimes, was arrested three days after the crime.
At the time of the offense, he was under ongoing probation and supervision.