In the high-security courtroom of the Higher Regional Court in Stuttgart-Stammheim, a staggering trial concludes after 173 days, 200 telephone recordings, 130 witnesses, and 150,000 pages of files. With stern judgments, the court sentences eleven convicts for their involvement in a dangerous extremist group plotting attacks on mosques, aiming to ignite a civil war.
Among the penalties, the infamous ringleader Werner S. receives six years in prison, while another ringleader, considered responsible for the group's activities, will serve five years and three months. The remaining defendants receive prison terms ranging from 2.5 to 4.5 years, and one defendant receives a suspended sentence. Another individual, who reported the group's plans to the authorities, is found innocent.
Throughout the trial, the convicts remain unmoved by the proceedings, with some engrossed in Sudoku puzzles or fixated on the floor. A defense lawyer once referred to the group as a "collection of pompous pontificators," but the presiding judge sees things differently. "There are not eleven men sitting here who only disagreed with the refugee policy," he states. In the judge's opinion, the defendants uphold far-right extremist and even National Socialist ideals.
The crew has a sordid history, first networking in chat groups, sharing violent fantasies and hate speech, relishing in terms like "human waste," "filthy pigs," and "sub-humans." In the fall of 2019, a group of the men congregated in Alfdorf, near Stuttgart, bonding over barbecue and violent ambitions.
The trial, facing roadblocks due to its expansive scope and the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, has seen several irregularities. Convict deceased in custody before the charges were brought, one defendant died unexpectedly during the trial itself.
As the trial concludes in Stuttgart-Stammheim, it seems that the legal investigation "Group S." is far from over. Some lawyers plan to challenge the verdict, and right-wing terrorist trials continue in German courtrooms. The arrests and sentencing serve as a stark reminder of the collective responsibility to protect citizens from the threat posed by extremist groups, no matter their ideology or intended targets.
Sources and insights:
- The specific extremist terrorist group involved in planning mosque attacks isn't identified in the article.
- In 2018, the Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart sentenced a 26-year-old Syrian man to 9.5 years in prison for attempting to kill Turkish football fans at a public screening in Stuttgart.
- An Afghan man accused of a knife attack that killed a German police officer and injured five others during an anti-Islam rally is on trial in Mannheim. A sentence has not been announced yet.
- In 1982, the Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart prosecuted members of the neo-Nazi terrorist organization Deutsche Aktionsgruppen (DA) for an arson attack on a refugee accommodation in Hamburg. Sibylle Vorderbrügge and Raymund Hörnle were sentenced to life in prison, while Heinz Colditz received six years imprisonment.
The court's focus on extremist groups and terrorism in Germany underscores the need for continued vigilance and protection against these threats, ensuring public safety and safeguarding the rights of all citizens.
