German court sentences man to life in prison over Halle synagogue attack

A German court has convicted a right-wing extremist of murder and attempted murder and sentenced him to life in prison for his attack on a synagogue last year on Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day. 

The October 9, 2019, attack during which two people were killed is considered one of the worst anti-Semitic assaults in Germany’s post-war history.

The 28-year-old defendant, Stephan Balliet, posted a screed against Jews before trying to shoot his way into the synagogue in the eastern city of Halle while broadcasting the attack live on a popular gaming site.

Judges at the Naumburg state court, which met in the state capital of Magdeburg for security and capacity reasons, on Monday found him “seriously culpable," news agency dpa reported. That means he will be effectively barred from early release after 15 years, which is typical for people in Germany given life sentences.

READ MORE: Jewish groups voice fear over German far-right surge

'Cowardly attack'

Presiding Judge Ursula Mertens described it as a “cowardly attack” as she announced the verdict. Balliet showed no reaction but took notes.

During his five-month trial which began in July, Balliet denied the Holocaust in open court – a crime in Germany – and expressed no remorse to those targeted, many of whom were co-plaintiffs in the case.

"The attack on the synagogue in Halle was one of the most repulsive anti-Semitic acts since World War II," prosecutor Kai Lohse told the court in the nearby city of Magdeburg as the trial wrapped up.

When he was unable to open the building’s heavy doors, the German shot and killed a 40-year-old woman in the street outside and a 20-year-old man at a nearby kebab shop, and wounded several others.

The prosecution had demanded a life sentence for Balliet. The defence team asked presiding judge Ursula Mertens only for a "fair sentence".

A lawyer for nine of the co-plaintiffs, Mark Lupschitz, told AFP early Monday the trial had been "fair" and called the proceedings both "stressful and empowering" for the intended victims.

During the trial, Balliet insisted that "attacking the synagogue was not a mistake, they are my enemies". He admitted he wanted to enter the synagogue and kill all 51 people inside.

He apologised to the court for killing the woman, saying that “I didn’t want to kill whites.”

Dressed in military garb, he filmed the attack and broadcast it on the internet, prefacing it with a manifesto espousing his misogynist, neo-fascist ideology.

Israel's ambassador to Germany, Jeremy Issacharoff, called the attack "a very, very alarming moment in German history".

"If that guy would have been able to get into a synagogue ... it would have had a tremendous impact on German identity after the war and the fight against anti-Semitism," he told AFP in an interview.

German authorities have vowed to step up measures against far-right extremism following the Halle attack, the killing of a regional politician by a suspected neo-Nazi and the fatal shooting of nine people of immigrant background in Hanau — all of which happened within a year.

READ MORE: German police in nationwide raids on far-right group