A Berlin court on Thursday sentenced a Syrian national to 13 years in prison over a stabbing attack at the German capital's Holocaust memorial days before federal elections last year.

The 20-year-old defendant stabbed a Spanish tourist visiting the memorial in February 2025.

He was convicted of attempted murder, grievous bodily harm and attempted membership of a terrorist organization, the court said.

The defendant approached the 30-year-old victim from behind and "inflicted a 14-centimeter-long (more than five-inch) cut to his throat with a knife." The victim was badly wounded but survived the attack.

What did the court say about the crime?

Prosecutors accused the defendant of having "internalized IS ideology, rejected the Western way of life," and being "convinced that a holy war against infidels must be waged worldwide."

The court's presiding judge Doris Husch said he had committed the crime "in the name of the Islamic State (IS) group."

Ahead of the trial the court said in a statement that the defendant had intended to "target a person of the Jewish faith."

The 20-year-old confessed to the crime during the trial, saying he had been motivated by his radicalization and belief he was acting with a religious mission.

"My shame is too deep, I ask for forgiveness," he told the court, according to his lawyer.

As he was 19 at the time of the attack, the judges had to decide if he would be tried under juvenile or adult law. Germany has a special system for offenders aged 18-20.

They decided to treat him as an adult, based on his emotional and psychological maturity at the time.

Why was the timing of the attack significant?

The attack came merely days before Germany's 2025 general election, which was largely shaped by an anti-migration campaign that was further heated by a string of coinciding deadly attacks by migrants.

Since the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad in December 2024, there have been growing calls from some politicians to send Syrian refugees home.

Germany is home to some 1 million Syrians, most of whom arrived there to escape the civil war which dragged on for over a decade and until Assad's ouster.

Last December, Germany's conservative-led government deported a convicted criminal to Syria for the first time in 2011. This followed months of talks with Syria's interim government.

Edited by: Wesley Rahn

Author: Rana Taha (with AFP, dpa)

First published: March 05, 2026

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