Afghan given life sentence in Germany after fatal stabbing at anti-Islam rally

An Afghan national with suspected Islamist motives was sentenced to life in prison by a German court on Tuesday for stabbing a police officer to death and injuring five others at an anti-Islam rally last year.

The verdict comes at a time of heated debate about deportations of criminals and failed asylum seekers to Afghanistan, which resumed earlier this year after talks with the Taliban government, which Berlin does not officially recognise.

The 26-year-old defendant, named only as Sulaiman A to protect his privacy, was found guilty of using a large hunting knife to attack people during a demonstration in the western city of Mannheim organised by the anti-Islam group Pax Europa in late May 2024.

Sulaiman A attacked a speaker and several demonstrators at the event before stabbing a police officer who rushed in to help. The officer later succumbed to his injuries.

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The attacker was taken into pre-trial custody in June 2024 after leaving intensive care for injuries he sustained during his arrest.

Though prosecutors say he sympathised with the militant Islamic State group, he was not tried for terrorism.

The court in Stuttgart declared a special "gravity of guilt" in the case, which means Sulaiman A will not be eligible for parole.

The verdict can still be appealed.