Germany: Trial of man accused of planning bomb attack on people of color
The trial began in Germany on Tuesday, 7 January of a 37-year-old man from the eastern city of Halle who is suspected of planning a bomb attack. According to the indictment, he wanted to primarily kill people of color, the Deutsche Presse-Agentura (DPA) reports.
The homemade explosive device was found in his apartment. According to detectives, it was a 7-kilogram bomb built into a silver suitcase.
The indictment claims the man wanted to kill people with the explosive “for xenophobic and racist reasons”. The target was meant to be “dark-skinned foreign nationals” in particular.
Last April the man shouted racist insults from the window of his apartment at pedestrians and threatened them with an Airsoft pistol. That sparked a police intervention during which the explosives were found in his apartment along with a sign referencing the elite Nazi SS units and other materials proving his ultra-right mindset.
The trial in Halle is scheduled to run until the start of February. The defendant claims he is innocent.
Should he be convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison.
