A Syrian Islamist who carried out a knife attack at a city festival in Solingen last summer, killing three people and wounding eight others, has been sentenced to life in prison followed by preventive detention.
The Regional Court of Düsseldorf on Tuesday convicted 27-year-old Issa al Hasan of murder, attempted murder, dangerous and aggravated bodily harm, and membership in a foreign terrorist organization.
The Court also made a finding of “besondere Schwere der Schuld” (“particularly serious guilt”), meaning the crime has been judged as so serious that the perpetrator should not be eligible for parole after the usual minimum period of a life sentence.
In addition, he must pay €360,000 in damages to victims and their families.
Al Hasan, who arrived in Germany in 2022 and claimed asylum, confessed during the trial that he wanted to kill as many people as possible in what he called an act of holy war. Before the attack, he filmed a video pledging allegiance to the Islamic State while brandishing a knife and declaring in Arabic, “By Allah, I’ll cut you up.”
On Aug. 23 last year, he bought a carving knife and went to the “Festival of Diversity” in Solingen, where he stabbed his victims from behind, targeting the neck.
The attack left three people aged 56, 57, and 58 dead, and most of the other 10 victims seriously injured. Witnesses heard him shout “Allahu Akbar” during the rampage.
A man whose wife, Ines, was among those killed, described her dying moments in court. “Suddenly, I saw my wife no longer dancing. She was sitting on the floor, unable to speak, and pointing at her neck. Then she pulled off her collar, and blood spurted from a wound, throbbing; her carotid artery was torn open.” Emergency services were unable to save her life.
At the start of the trial, al Hasan told the Court, “I have committed a grave crime, killed three people, and others barely survived. I will accept the verdict. I killed innocents, not infidels. Jews, Christians, and Muslims are not enemies. I expect a life sentence.”
Deportation proceedings had been initiated against al Hasan in June 2023 after his asylum claim was rejected for the final time, but he had fled his asylum accommodation in Paderborn. Bild reported that no further attempts to locate the man had been made before the rampage.
A psychiatric report confirmed that while al Hasan’s IQ was very low at just 71, he showed no signs of mental illness and was fully responsible for his actions. As such, he will serve his sentence in prison and not a psychiatric unit.
