A German right-wing extremist was sentenced Monday to life in prison for killing two people during a shooting rampage near a synagogue on Yom Kippur …
A German right-wing extremist was sentenced Monday to life in prison for killing two people during a shooting rampage near a synagogue on Yom Kippur last year – recording the sickening attack and streaming it online. Stephan Balliet,28, was convicted of two counts of murder,66 counts of attempted murder, bodily harm and incitement in the attack outside the Jüdische Gemeinde Halle temple as worshipers were inside observing the holiest day in Judaism. Judges at the Naumburg state court found him “seriously culpable,” which means he will be effectively barred from early release after 15 years. As Judge Ursula Mertens announced the verdict for what she called a “cowardly attack,” Balliet, his head shaved and dressed in black, showed no reaction but took notes, according to the dpa news agency. In a chilling echo of the Christchurch, New Zealand, mosque massacre in March 2019 — which was shared on Facebook Live — Balliet livestreamed his attack in a video on Twitch as he failed to gain entry into the temple. The Oct.9,2019, rampage is considered one of the worst anti-Semitic attacks in Germany’s post-war history.
