Syrian jihadist sentenced to life for German knife attacks

BERLIN, GERMANY (AFP) - A 27-year-old Syrian Islamist was sentenced to life for murder and attempted murder in Germany on Tuesday over two stabbing attacks earlier this year in the western city of Duisburg.

The defendant, named only as Maan D., was a supporter of the Islamic State group and admitted his crimes, the court in Duesseldorf said in a statement.

He was "still determined to kill those he sees as 'infidels'", added the court.

Maan D., who arrived in Germany as a refugee during the 2015 influx, attacked a man at random in Duisburg on April 9, stabbing him at least 28 times in the abdomen, head and neck with a kitchen knife. 

The 35-year-old victim, who had been partying on a street with friends, died later the same day.

Less than two weeks later, Maan D. stormed a gym in Duisburg, where he attacked three men in the locker room and shower area with the same knife, leaving them with life-threatening wounds in their upper bodies. He then also inflicted two stab wounds to the thigh of a first aider.

The court classed the crimes as particularly grievous and ordered Maan D. held in in preventive detention beyond the 15 years usually served in Germany under a life sentence. 

It found that he had been "radicalised since 2020 by militant-jihadist ideology of the Islamic State (IS) terror organisation on the internet" and saw all who didn't share his views as "infidels".

'Still dangerous'

"Hence he decided -- without directly belonging to IS or any other terror organisation -- to kill randomly selected male residents of the federal republic," the court said.

Islamist extremists have committed several violent attacks in Germany in recent years, the deadliest being a truck rampage at a Berlin Christmas market in December 2016 that killed 12 people.

More recently, a Syrian jihadist was given a life sentence in May 2021 for stabbing a German man to death and severely wounding his partner in a homophobic attack in the eastern city of Dresden.

Another suspected jihadist was arrested at his home in Duisburg in October for allegedly planning an attack, with a pro-Israel demonstration a possible target.

The number of people on the Islamist extremist spectrum in Germany fell from 28,290 in 2021 to 27,480 in 2022, according to a report from the BfV domestic intelligence agency.

However, on presenting the report in June, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said Islamist extremism "remains dangerous".