State protection procedure: Richter: Check possible Russia connection to knife attack

The judge in the trial for the fatal knife attack on the Mannheim marketplace has possible connections from the accused check to Russia after the corresponding television report is broadcast. The presiding judge at the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court will ask the State Criminal Police Office and the Federal Attorney General to inform the court of any knowledge in the run -up to the act of action, said a court spokesman. A corresponding request may also be made to the Federal Intelligence Service.

In the ZDF show “Terra X History”, which was broadcast on Sunday evening, an internet profile reported on suspicious search queries from Russia days before the knife attack – with terms that suggested knowledge of perpetrators. According to DPA information, security circles, however, point out that corresponding information on Google Trends could not be scheduled for days in front of the Mannheim knife attack. According to the Federal Prosecutor’s office, the now 26-year-old defendant injured six people with a knife on May 31, 2024 in Mannheim: five participants in a rally by the Islam-critical citizens’ movement Pax Europa (BPE) and the 29-year-old police officer Rouven Laur. The official died of his serious injuries two days later.

Supposedly learned more as a chat partner

According to his statement, Sulaiman A. had received confirmation for his planned attack on Telegram. A chat partner at the messenger service, a kind of scholar, spoke of the killing of police officers about Mujaheddin, he said at the end of March. Mujaheddin usually means fighter of Islamist groups.

According to their own statements, the security authorities were unable to identify this scholar, who only called or called himself. To what extent this will be possible for the court will depend on the course of the further evidence, said the court spokesman.

He was curious, said the accused. He also spoke to the chat partner about a possible killing of Michael Stürzenberger, board member of the Islam-critical civil movement Pax Europa (BPE). He asked him if he could commit a crime, even if he had a residence permit. “He confirmed me that I can do that.” The Afghan is charged with murder and attempted murder.

The federal prosecutor assumes that Sulaiman A. has sympathy for the terrorist militia Islamic State. The accused also confirmed this in court. According to the federal prosecutor, he was finally convinced that it was not only legitimate, but also his religious duty to kill supposedly unbelievers. The accused had recently lived with wife and children in Heppenheim in Hesse – around 35 kilometers northeast of Mannheim.