Foreign
A court has found a 47-year-old man guilty of carrying out an arson attack on a synagogue in the southern German city of Ulm more than two years ago.
The court ruled on Tuesday that the arson attack was motivated by anti-Semitism and sentenced the man, a Turkish national, to two years, and nine months in prison.
The sentence matched the punishment demanded by prosecutors.
The man poured petrol along the wall of the synagogue in June 2021, which caused burn marks on the wall and left a window clouded with soot.
The verdict on Tuesday found him guilty of attempted aggravated arson and criminal property damage.
The accused had refused to respond to questions in court but provided detailed information during a pre-trial psychiatric examination.
The psychiatric expert gave evidence at the start of the trial in December, saying that the accused had claimed to want to draw attention to the sufferings of Palestinians in their conflict with Israel.
His defence had asked the court to impose only a fine.
The man fled to Turkey following the attack on the synagogue but was detained on returning to Germany at the beginning of July last year.
The Ulm arson case caused outrage in Germany given it came less than two years after the October 2019 synagogue shooting in the city of Halle that left two people dead.
The verdict is not yet final and may still be appealed. (dpa/NAN)
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-January 16, 2023 @ 14:27 GMT|
Tags: 2021 synagogue arson case
