German synagogue attack suspect starts trial with racist rant
- Stephan Balliet, 28, is accused of shooting two people dead after failing in attempt to storm Jewish place of worship in city of Halle
- Case has fuelled alarm about rising right-wing extremism and anti-Semitism in Germany, 75 years after end of Nazi era
A German man accused of killing two people in one of the worst acts of anti-Semitic violence in post-war Germany sought to lay out his racist world view at the opening of his trial on Tuesday, prompting stern warnings from the judge.
Stephan Balliet, 28, stands accused of shooting dead two people last October after he tried and failed to storm a synagogue in the eastern city of Halle last year.
He has been charged with two counts of murder and multiple counts of attempted murder in a case that has deeply rattled the country and fuelled alarm about rising right-wing extremism and anti-Jewish violence, 75 years after the end of the Nazi era.
Addressing the court, Balliet claimed he had “decided in 2015 not to do anything more for this society which has replaced me with Muslims and Negroes”, in reference to the year when hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers, many fleeing war in Syria and Iraq, were given refuge in Germany.
Judge Ursula Mertens repeatedly called him to order, warning that he could be thrown out of the hearing.