The Dresden Higher Regional Court has sentenced alleged left-wing extremist Lina E. to five years and three months in prison for multiple attacks on right-wing extremists. The state security chamber imposed prison sentences of between two years and five months and three years and three months on the three co-defendants. Supporters and sympathizers protested loudly in the hall against the verdict.
After the verdict was announced, the presiding judge, Hans Schlueter-Staats, interrupted the hearing because onlookers chanted “Faschofreunde” and “Scheiß class justice” at the bench. According to the state protection chamber, the 28-year-old student and a co-defendant of the same age are guilty of membership of a criminal organization; a 37 year old and another 28 year old for their support. E. and two of them were also charged with dangerous bodily harm, a fourth with complicity.
The state protection chamber remained under the criminal complaints of the federal prosecutor’s office, which had demanded eight years in prison for E., who came from Kassel in Hesse, and between two years and nine months and three years and nine months for the three men .
Serious allegations against the defendants
The accusations against Lina E. and the other suspects weighed heavily. The federal prosecutor accused them of brutally beating up (alleged) supporters of the right-wing scene in Leipzig, Wurzen and Eisenach between 2018 and 2020. E. is seen by the OM as the head of the group. In at least two cases she is said to have been in charge. A key witness had accused the suspect. According to the indictment, 13 people were injured, two of them possibly life-threatening. Another accusation was that the accused had rejected both the democratic constitutional state and the state monopoly on the use of force.
The trial, which is subject to strict security measures, began in September 2021. At that time, Lina E. had been detained for ten months while the men walked free. Aside from personal information, the suspect remained silent about the allegations. Only Lina E. grabbed the ‘last word’ and thanked her parents, relatives, all supporters and defenders. At that time, she was already aware of the possible punishment.
Defense considers trial politically motivated
For the defense, acquittal was only possible after the trial, they consider the trial to be politically motivated and conducted in the wrong place. The mere fact that the GBA took over the investigation led to higher criminal prosecution, they argued in their plea. They saw their clients exposed to bias and accused federal prosecutors of using different standards when sentencing right-wing and left-wing criminals. The court was charged with partiality.
When the verdict was announced, Lina E. in particular was received by relatives and supporters in the hall with thunderous applause, standing ovations and chants and celebrated for minutes. They protested when the verdict was announced and onlookers insulted the court. In front of the building on the outskirts of the city, which houses the heavily guarded hall of the Saxon judiciary, several dozen supporters, mainly from Leipzig, demonstrated and expressed their solidarity with Lina E.
Source: Krone
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