Following a homophobic attack in Mainz’s Hartenberg Park, the Mainz Regional Court’s Fifth Criminal Chamber handed down lengthy prison sentences to two men. The court imposed seven and a half years on a 23-year-old and seven years plus one month on his 22-year-old co-defendant, according to the Allgemeine Zeitung (paid article). The court found the two Syrians from Saarland guilty of aggravated robbery in conjunction with dangerous bodily harm.
According to the chamber, the defendants beat a 31-year-old compatriot over his homosexuality, threatened him with a knife, and robbed him of his cell phone and 300 euros on the evening of January 13. “You must die, Islam does not tolerate men like you,” they reportedly threatened. The men had previously arranged the encounter via Snapchat, with the victim himself having stated that he is attracted to men (TheColu.mn reported). The two suspects have been in pretrial detention since February.
“I go to paradise if I kill him”
The chamber largely followed the prosecution’s request, which had called for eight and a half years in prison. The indictment said the attack was planned for religious motives. According to the charges, the 23-year-old lured the victim to a parking lot on Bruchweg, where his accomplice waited in a car. There, the man was supposed to be incapacitated, but the 22-year-old, according to analyzed messages, wrote, “Not at the car, there are too many people here.”
In the park, the 23-year-old finally attacked the man, and his friend joined in. “I go to paradise if I kill him,” the 23-year-old was reported to have said. The prosecutors asked what might have happened if the plan had succeeded at the car or if a cyclist hadn’t happened to pass by in the park. The trial also touched on whether the 23-year-old had become radicalized, with internet searches pointing to ISIS-linked sites.
Victim blames himself before the court
The defense had requested suspended sentences of up to two years and denied that the act was planned. The 23-year-old’s lawyer claimed his client also harbored homosexual tendencies: “He wanted to try it, but it became too much and he struck,” the attorney said. The defense lawyer for the 22-year-old argued that a possible homophobic motive could not simply be extrapolated onto his client, noting also the tightened security measures at the court: “As if we’re dealing with terrorists.”
The victim testified that the ordeal has left him traumatized, with nightmares and fear to walk alone. He had come to Germany in order to live his homosexuality without fear of punishment, the 31-year-old said as a witness. He described blaming himself for what happened: “I hate myself. If I weren’t like this, I would never have met these men.” He explained that he had come to Germany to be able to live his sexuality openly and without fear.
