The defendant (L) arrives in the courtroom of the Higher Regional Court in Stuttgart-Stammheim, southern Germany, on February 13, 2025, before the start of his trial for murdering a police officer and attempting to murder five others at the market square in Mannheim on May 31, 2024. THOMAS KIENZLE/Pool via REUTERS
STUTTGART (Reuters) - An Afghan man with suspected Islamist sympathies went on trial in Germany on Thursday on charges of murder and attempted murder after a stabbing attack targeting a political rally in the western city of Mannheim.
The trial takes place at a time of heightened debate in Germany around asylum rules and security before a national election on Feb. 23. The centre-right and far-right have vowed tough action on migrant crime, following several violent attacks in recent months.
The defendant, identified by prosecutors as Sulaiman A., is accused of stabbing and seriously injuring six people, including a 29-year-old policeman who died of his injuries, during the attack on an anti-Islam demonstration in late May 2024.
He covered his face with a folder during his appearance at the higher regional court in Stuttgart, the state capital of Baden-Wuerttemberg, where Mannheim is located.
The suspect was taken into pre-trial custody on June 18 after leaving intensive care for injuries he sustained in the attack.
(Reporting by Tilman Blasshofer in Stuttgart, Writing by Rachel More, Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
