Berlin is trying New Year’s Eve offenders in 2021
from Matthew Becker
The Berlin New Year’s Eve riots and firecracker attacks on police officers were just four weeks ago. Politicians called for speedy trials against the perpetrators. Two of them are actually on trial now. But it’s been a year since their actions!
Tiergarten district court, room 2115: Ibrahim M. (26, security guard) and Omar M. (22, Hartz IV, both German). On December 29, 2021 at 5.50 p.m. they are supposed to throw several forbidden “Poland firecrackers” onto Sonnenallee (Neukoelln) have thrown. They also attacked a police patrol with a dumbum bomb and endangered road traffic, according to the accusation (AZ: 277 Js 924/22).
The witness Osama A. (42) was just parking his car when the first explosions shook the busy shopping street. The delivery driver: “The first explosion was so powerful that the children cried.” He looked up and saw two men standing at the window, lighting a second forbidden firecracker.
The witness: “The object hit the police car and immediately exploded. It was incredibly loud.” He stopped the officers and showed them the apartment where the suspected attackers were hiding.
With a judicial search warrant, the police officers stormed the suspicious 5-room apartment and met Ibrahim and Omar M. – charges of attacking law enforcement officers, dangerous interventions in road traffic and violation of the explosives law.
Osama A.: “I know such explosions from my Arab homeland. But it’s disturbing to hear something like that here. I was particularly upset that the two men were laughing when the children were crying.”
Against the background of the severe New Year’s Eve riots at the turn of the year 2022/23 (355 criminal charges, 145 suspects), the outcome of the process is of particular importance.
Criminal defense lawyer Ehssan Khazaeli sees no possibility of conviction: “There are loopholes in the law. This cannot be criminally attacked. The firecracker throw is not an actual attack, not a dangerous intervention in road traffic.”
The trial will be on February 13, 2023.