Even his lawyer is surprised
Why was train killer Ibrahim A. (33) still walking around freely?
On Wednesday, Ibrahim A. attacked passengers on a regional train in northern Germany with a knife. He kills two teenagers. A. should actually have been behind bars. Even his lawyer was surprised that he was free.
Published: 6 minutes ago
1/8
Ibrahim A. (33, left) ran amok on a train in Germany: Here he is led by an official.
In Germany, two days after the knife attack on a regional train in northern Germany, there is still horror at the crime. Ibrahim A.* (33) killed two people (†17 and †19) in the attack and injured seven other people. Three people are still in mortal danger.
A. was already known to the police before the crime. He committed multiple crimes and was in custody for several months. According to the investigating authorities, the background was a not yet final conviction for dangerous bodily harm. But shortly before the act, he was released. That surprises even his lawyer. “I was surprised that my client was released from custody so suddenly,” said Björn Seelbach to “Spiegel”. Why was the man, who had been convicted several times, still walking around freely?
Minister of the Interior on the attack: “Ibrahim A. has committed several criminal offenses”(01:06)
A few days before the crime, A. was examined psychiatrically. The result: the man does not endanger others or himself. This was announced by a spokeswoman for the Hamburg judicial authority according to “Bild”. There were no indications to turn on legal support or the social psychiatric service.
He’s already pulled out a knife
A. entered Germany in 2014, and in recent years he has repeatedly attacked people. On December 16, 2021, A. committed dangerous bodily harm when he hit a drug advice center with an iron bar. On January 8, the police recorded a simple assault in his criminal file. Ten days later, on January 18, 2022, he clashed with a homeless man while serving food at a homeless shelter.
A. pulled out a knife, stabbed his victim and cut the man’s head. Two days later, he hit a man in the head several times with a jackknife at the drug advice center.
The police then arrested him. He was sentenced to a year and a week in prison for aggravated assault. In prison, he attacked a fellow inmate, then attacked a prison officer.
Knife killer is silent
While behind bars, Ibrahim A. appealed – and was released on January 19 of this year. “It was foreseeable that an appointment for the main appeal hearing would not be possible before the length of the pre-trial detention would reach the length of the prison sentence to be served when it became final, i.e. the convicted person would be in pre-trial detention for longer than his sentence would last at most,” explains Kai Wantzen, spokesman for the Hamburg court against “Bild”. For reasons of proportionality, the regional court canceled the arrest warrant on January 19, 2023, so that the convicted person was released after a year in custody.
In the meantime, Ibrahim A. is in custody again – and is silent. He is accused of double murder and multiple attempted manslaughter.
Since the alleged attacker was homeless before his arrest in Hamburg, “he was now on the street”. His client has no family members in Germany. According to the lawyer, Ibrahim A. came from the Gaza Strip. His family was harassed by the radical Palestinian organization Hamas. “That was the reason for his escape.” (nad/AFP)
* Name known