Fatal shots at 26-year-olds: Murder in the Berlin betting shop deals with the Federal Court of Justice – Berlin
One of the largest lawsuits against rockers in Germany is entering the next round: Eight years after the deadly shots in a Berlin betting shop, the Leipzig-based 5th Criminal Division of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) is dealing with the case this week. The trial of ten rockers lasted around five years, and in the end the Berlin Regional Court sentenced eight of them to life imprisonment in 2019 for murder and another for inciting murder. So far, only one judgment has become final – that of the man who had testified extensively and who is considered a traitor by the Hells Angels.
The revisions of the accused and the public prosecutor’s office are now working on the BGH judges. Because of the size of the procedure and the high number, the hearing will be held this Tuesday (10:00 a.m.) and Wednesday (10:00 a.m.) in the large courtroom of the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig.
Surveillance camera recordings of the deadly attack on January 10, 2014 can still be found on the Internet today: 13 men, some of whom are masked, march in the Wettcafé in Berlin-Reinickendorf. The man at the top fired a pistol at the 26-year-old victim in the back room without warning.
Hit by six bullets, the victim died in the café. The attack is said to have been revenge for a brawl in front of a nightclub in 2013 with an injured Hells Angels rocker. In addition, the rockers wanted to clarify their position of power, the public prosecutor said.
The trial in Berlin began on November 4, 2014, with high security precautions. Around five years later, the judges then deliver their verdicts. They convicted a then 35-year-old, who was considered the head of the Hells Angels rockers and who was said to have commissioned the fatal shots, for incitement to murder.
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The process had also dragged on because of mistakes by the police. According to the judges at the time, the State Criminal Police Office knew of the endangerment of the later victim, but failed to take measures to prevent the crime. Around two years after the verdict, the men are therefore counted as time already served. On the other hand, the appeal of the public prosecutor’s office applies.
One of the convicted rockers is now free after six years and seven months in prison, as his then defender Steffen Tzschoppe reported. The then 32-year-old had also been convicted of murder, but got away with twelve years in prison because, according to the court’s conviction, he had lost half of the money in the investigation of the case. He has since been considered a traitor and was placed in a witness protection program. (dpa)