German Army Officer Sentenced To More Than 5 Years In Prison For Planned Attack

JAKARTA - A German army officer posing as a Syrian asylum seeker has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison for planning to attack one or more politicians and several weapons offences.

This plan was ripe and revealed in 2017. This incident shocked Germans and sparked debate about the influence of right-wing radicalism within the country's military.

The case is particularly sensitive for Germany, where since the Second World War, the government has seen a commitment to human rights and a fight against extremism as key elements in atoning for Nazi Germany's crimes and rebuilding allied trust.

"The court found that the defendant had a right-wing extremist, nationalist and racist attitude that had been ingrained for years," he said.

Prosecutors said the man, identified as Franco A, posed under a false identity and plotted an attack he hoped would blame on refugees and migrants.

They also said Franco A. stole ammunition from the German military. Former justice minister Heiko Maas or former parliamentary vice president Claudia Roth were seen as possible targets for attacks.

Franco A, who has denied the allegations, was arrested in Vienna in February 2017 while trying to retrieve a loaded gun he had hidden in an airport toilet.

He stood with a black beard and a ponytail in a Frankfurt court as the verdict was read more than a year after the trial began.

The judge, after announcing a guilty verdict and a prison sentence of five and a half years, described in detail the evidence for Franco A's racist and anti-Semitic views, some of which were written in a master's thesis and others were disclosed to individuals.

The judge also detailed evidence of a plot to carry out the attack, partly based on notes and handwritten sketches.

"The defendant said he did not plan the attack but the evidence says otherwise," the judge said.

Lawyer Franco A. said he would appeal, while prosecutors in the case said the decision was a victory in the fight against right-wing extremism and racism.

Franco A looked emotionless, his head slightly bowed with his hands folded in his lap, as the presiding judge explained for about 90 minutes the verdict.