The brutal attack on Jena football fans in December 2018 was negotiated again. A verdict was announced several hours after the start of the trial. Again it is rather mild.
Gera (dpa/th) – In another trial about an attack on football fans, the accused was sentenced to a youth sentence of one year and six months on probation at the Gera district court. The presiding judge, Harald Tscherner, said on Wednesday that three months of this had already been paid for due to the time it took for the trial to begin. The 23-year-old had proven for the court in December 2018 in Saalfeld at the train station, together with a total of about 40 violent football fans from the Erfurt fan spectrum, attacked and beat returning football fans from Jena, making himself punishable for bodily harm and trespassing. It was a planned and brutal attack in Saalfeld, in which the Jena fans were sometimes knocked unconscious with fists in the face – in which the accused was also demonstrably involved.
“You were lucky,” said the judge. At the beginning of the trial, Tscherner promised the man, who had previously been convicted of assault, that he would face a maximum sentence of two years if he made a “comprehensive confession”. In addition to the delay, he was also credited with confessing almost completely. “I was just curious and wanted to be there and find out what it’s like,” said the 23-year-old about his motivation. He denied being a member of the “Jungsturm” fan group. “We don’t believe that they have nothing to do with the “Jungsturm”,” said Tscherner when the verdict was announced.
The “Jungsturm” is a fan group from the environment of FC Rot-Weiss Erfurt. According to earlier assessments by the police and prosecutors, violent and right-wing football fans are gathering there.
It is not the first investigation into the incident. Several people from the group have already been convicted at the Gera district court. The regional court had considered it proven that they had met in changing occupations to fight with other hooligan groups and attacked FC Carl Zeiss Jena fans, for example at the Saalfeld and Gotha train stations in 2018 and 2019. Jena fans are considered to be more left-wing set. Another trial against several of the group’s accused is scheduled to begin in mid-October.
The public prosecutor had previously demanded a suspended sentence of one year for the 23-year-old accused using juvenile criminal law. The defense attorney had demanded a significantly lower sentence for his client in the form of a warning and 500 working hours. The verdict is not yet legally binding.