At the beginning of November 2021, a man in an ICE suddenly attacked fellow passengers with a knife. In court, eyewitnesses are now reporting on the psychological consequences they have suffered since the attack. Then the injured have their say in the process.
Munich (dpa / lby) - After the bloody knife attack on travelers in an express train from Passau to Nuremberg, numerous eyewitnesses testified on Thursday in the trial against the alleged perpetrator. Several of the ICE passengers at the time reported to the Munich Higher Regional Court of their ongoing mental stress, triggered by the bloody attack a year ago. "I was in therapy, couldn't work for a long time," said an 18-year-old. She has not been able to drive a train since the incident. Another witness spoke of insomnia and panic attacks.
The trial of Abdalrahman A. began about two weeks ago. The indictment accuses the 27-year-old of attempted murder and dangerous bodily harm, among other things. On November 6, 2021, he is said to have suddenly attacked four men with a knife in an ICE on the way to Nuremberg, seriously injuring three of them. The Attorney General took over the investigation because there were "serious indications of an Islamist background" to the crime.
From the point of view of the defense, however, it is not clear whether their client is really a jihadist - and how his mental state at the time of the crime should be assessed.
With the exception of small deviations, the eyewitnesses painted a uniform picture of what was happening on the ICE. It was quiet in the high-capacity wagon, they said, before screams suddenly alerted them to the attack. A man was standing in the aisle and attacked a seated fellow passenger – with punches, the majority of those present initially assumed, according to their own statements. They only saw the knife blade in the perpetrator's hand later.
An elderly passenger intervened, whereupon the perpetrator continued in the direction of the next car. Shortly before the door, he attacked another passenger before disappearing into the adjacent car. A witness reported that panic broke out among the passengers. Many of them fled in the opposite direction of the attacker.
The process is to continue on Friday with the questioning of the four victims. At the beginning of the proceedings, the court initially scheduled 24 days of hearings until December 23rd.
