Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man sentenced to life for stabbing Jerusalem Gay Pride marchers
An Israeli court on Sunday sentenced an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man to life in prison for killing a 16-year-old girl and wounding others during a stabbing spree at a Jerusalem Gay Pride parade.
The Jerusalem District Court convicted Yishai Schlissel in April of murder and six counts of attempted murder over the July 2015 stabbings.
He was sentenced to life plus 31 years, a court statement said, after prosecutors had requested life plus 60 years.
This guy showed no remorse. In the last hearing before this he said that this is a religious war
Schlissel was led into the courtroom with both his hands and feet shackled.
The incident triggered harsh criticism of the police when it emerged that Schlissel had been released from prison only three weeks earlier after serving a 10-year sentence for a similar attack.
He had also posted a letter on the Internet speaking of the “abomination” of a Gay Pride parade being held in the Holy City and the need to stop it, even at the cost of one’s life.
Many questioned how Schlissel, 40 when he was convicted, was allowed anywhere near the parade, which saw thousands marching through central Jerusalem.
Witnesses described terrifying scenes of Schlissel, with a long beard and dressed in the dark suit worn by ultra-Orthodox Jews, storming the parade with a knife.