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Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

German Army Officer Sentenced to Jail for Terrorist Plot


Fri 15 Jul 2022 | 05:37 PM
Omnia Ahmed

A German army officer was sentenced to five and a half years in prison for planning a series of “false flag” political assassinations to stir up violence against Syrian refugees.

Franco Albrecht, a first lieutenant in the joint Franco-German Brigade, posed as a Syrian asylum seeker. He is the first postwar case in which a German soldier was accused of plotting acts of terrorism against his own state.

"The court found that the defendant had a right-wing extremist, nationalist and racist attitude that had solidified for years," it said.

Prosecutors said the man, 32, planned an attack he hoped would be blamed on refugees and migrants. They also pointed out that Franco stole ammunition from the German military, with former Justice Minister Heiko Maas or the former Parliament's Vice-President Claudia Roth seen as possible targets of an attack.

Moreover, the judge highlighted evidence of plans to carry out the attack, partly based on handwritten notes and sketches.

"The defendant says he didn't plan an attack but the evidence says otherwise," the judge said.

Meanwhile, Franco's lawyer said he would appeal, while the prosecutor in the case affirmed that the ruling was a victory in the fight against right-wing extremism and racism.

The German man appeared free of emotion, his head slightly bowed with his hands folded in his lap, as the presiding judge elaborated for some 90 minutes about the ruling.