The youth from Iraq had “insulted” his sister, the defendant claimed: “I was there when he harassed her. He said nasty things.”
He could no longer remember the exact wording. They were “clearly words that were offensive.” He wanted to confront the boy on April 2, 2024, and an argument broke out. Several men surrounded him. He felt threatened. He then pulled out “a small knife” and “waved it around.” It was not his intention to hurt anyone: “I was scared. I was attacked by several people. When I saw that I was bleeding, I used the knife. I did that to defend myself.”
This account did not match the statements made by the accused’s sister to the police after the incident, nor a video that an eyewitness had recorded with his smartphone and posted on social media. The video, which was played in the courtroom, shows the accused approaching the 16-year-old as he leaves the educational institution. There is a verbal argument and brief physical altercation, then the 16-year-old backs away, obviously trying to avoid an escalation. The accused follows him, literally swinging the knife, and several people – including a teacher from the educational institution – try in vain to hold him back.
Bone chipping
The 16-year-old suffered a stab wound to the head, which caused a splintering of the bone on the outer bone plate of the skull, two cuts in the upper abdomen and rib region, as well as a long horizontal cut at the level of the larynx and a stab wound between the cephalothorax muscle and the larynx. Despite this, the public prosecutor did not charge the violent act as attempted murder. “I was surprised that the public prosecutor only assumed attempted intentional grievous bodily harm. Fortunately, the wound on the neck was not very deep. But if I slit someone’s throat, in TV crime series that is usually an attempt at murder,” said the presiding judge.
The defendant’s younger sister had attended an English course with the victim. The two wanted to spend the break together, and she was seen in the auditorium by the 21-year-old, who wanted to attend an information event at the education center every day. The defendant may have overheard their conversation and misinterpreted the 16-year-old’s words. Although the sister explained to him that it had been a misunderstanding, the 21-year-old then ambushed the 16-year-old outside the educational institution.
