Halle synagogue attacker sentenced to life in prison
A German court on Monday sentenced the attacker behind a deadly 2019 attack on a synagogue in Halle to life in prison.
Far-right extremist Stephan Balliet was found guilty of two murders and more than 50 counts of attempted murder at the end of his 26-day trial.
Judge Ursula Mertens noted the particular severity of the crimes as she read the sentence.
Some 45 survivors had attended the trial as co-plaintiffs and were present for the verdict.
The prosecution had demanded a life sentence as well as preventative detention and an acknowledgement of the gravity of the crime. The defense did not challenge the charges, but merely asked for a "fair sentence."
The attempted attack on the synagogue would have been the worst antisemitic atrocity in Germany since the Holocaust.
The defendant is a 28-year-old German man who showed little remorse for his crime during his closing statement at his trial.
He confessed to the attack and used his statement to expound anti-Semitic and deny the Holocaust, which is an offense in Germany.
Source: dw
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