BERLIN (AP) — A German court on Friday found a military officer posing as a Syrian asylum seeker guilty of plotting to attack a prominent politician and sentenced him to five and a half years in prison. .
A Frankfurt state court has found the defendant guilty of preparing a serious crime with intent to endanger the state, breaking the arms law and fraud, Deutsche News Agency dpa reported. I also learned that he has right-wing extremist views. He is identified only as Lieutenant Franco A. according to German privacy regulations.
The 33-year-old German came to the attention of authorities after he was arrested in February 2017 while trying to retrieve a pistol he hid in a toilet at Vienna airport. reported. When the soldier’s fingerprints matched those he gave to register as an asylum seeker, an investigation was launched.
The defendant was accused of plotting the murder of a prominent politician and blaming refugees for the attack. claimed to have included the chief.
He stockpiles four firearms, including an assault rifle, over 1,000 rounds of ammunition, and over 50 explosive devices, some stolen from military stores.
The court found that the defendant decided to carry out the attack but could not establish whether he intended to do so by posing as a Syrian refugee, the DPA reported. It was also not possible to reveal the current location.
The soldier denied planning the attack at a trial held last May, but said he had stockpiled weapons and ammunition in case public order collapsed in Germany. By pretending, he claims that he wanted to expose the error in the asylum procedure.
Prosecutors, who called him a “radical right-wing terrorist,” were seeking a sentence of six years and three months.
The defense sought acquittal on the primary charge of preparing a serious crime intended to endanger the nation, and sought a fine or a suspended sentence on other charges. Defense attorneys say they plan to appeal the ruling.
