German court sentences man to life for Mannheim knife attack that killed police officer

A German court on Tuesday convicted a man of murder and sentenced him to life in prison for a knife attack in Mannheim that killed a police officer and wounded five other people last year.

The Stuttgart Higher Regional Court found the defendant, identified in line with German privacy rules as Sulaiman A., guilty of murder as well as four counts of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm. The court said he bears "particularly serious" guilt, which generally precludes the possibility of the usual early release after 15 years.

The victim was Officer Rouven Laur, 29, who died after the stabbing on May 31, 2024. Five members of Pax Europa, a group that describes itself as opposing what it calls "political Islam," were wounded in the attack. Prosecutors said evidence presented at the trial showed the defendant had been radicalized over several years and had come to identify with the ideology of the Islamic State group. The defendant confessed to the crimes and expressed remorse, German news agency dpa reported.

The attacker was 25 at the time of the incident and is an Afghan citizen who had lived in Germany for about a decade, authorities said. His asylum application had been rejected, and the case intensified public and political debate about deporting foreign nationals convicted of serious crimes. In the months after the attack, the German government changed rules to allow deportation of serious criminals back to Afghanistan.

The Stuttgart court's determination of "particularly serious" guilt is a legal finding under German law that can carry implications beyond a life sentence, effectively ruling out the routine consideration for parole after 15 years. Sentencing followed the court's assessment of the defendant's motives, planning and the severity of harm caused.

The attack occurred less than a month before European Parliament elections in 2024 and drew widespread attention in Germany, prompting discussions about public safety, integration and immigration policy. The verdict closes the criminal case in Stuttgart; prosecutors and defense lawyers could still pursue further legal steps within Germany's judicial system.