Hesse: mother and partner as witnesses against Franco A.

Frankfurt/Main (dpa/lhe) - In the Frankfurt trial on suspicion of terrorism against Bundeswehr officer Franco A.

Hesse: mother and partner as witnesses against Franco A.

Frankfurt/Main (dpa/lhe) - In the Frankfurt trial on suspicion of terrorism against Bundeswehr officer Franco A., the mother and partner of the accused were invited as witnesses this Monday. The defendant's fiancee had begun testifying at the previous hearing on May 2nd. In doing so, she partly made use of her right to refuse to testify, but partly also made statements. For example, she had expressed doubts about the defendant's statements about where he got a pistol from, which plays an important role in the process.

The federal prosecutor accuses Franco A. of planning attacks on politicians. The Bundeswehr soldier, who is currently being released from service, also assumed a false identity as a Syrian refugee - from the point of view of the prosecutors, in order to direct the suspicion of an attack against refugees and to shake confidence in asylum policy. A. was arrested at Vienna Airport in February 2017 when he tried to get a loaded pistol from a hiding place in an airport toilet. It is not yet known where the weapon came from and what he planned to do with it.

A. testified that he found the loaded gun in a bush. His fiancee said she doesn't think it's impossible, but has doubts. The whereabouts of other weapons has not yet been clarified in the proceedings. This is one of the reasons why A. has been in custody again since February.