A 29-year-old Afghan migrant has been sentenced to six years in prison for stabbing a 27-year-old teacher at random on the street, in the middle of the day, in the German city of Kirchheim unter Teck.
However, despite stabbing his victim four times in the back and twice in the thigh, the fact that the Afghan stopped stabbing her once she screamed was enough to convince the court in Stuttgart to drop the attempted murder charge.
On March 14 of this year, the teacher was seriously injured while walking home from work. The 29-year-old, who did not know his victim, walked up to her from behind in a residential area and grabbed her neck. With his other hand, he began stabbing her in the back with a 9.5-centimeter knife four times. He then stabbed her twice in her thigh.
The woman began screaming, at which time, her attacker let her go and ran away.
Based on the fact that he stopped stabbing her and ran away, the court claimed this was a “withdrawal from attempted murder,” according to reporting from Yvonne Kussman for Aktuelle Informiert. Therefore, since the man could have kept stabbing her but stopped, he was only convicted of the lesser crime of previous bodily harm.
A similar legal ruling was recently applied to another controversial case in Germany involving SPD Mayor Iris Stalze, who was tortured and stabbed by her adopted daughter from Africa, to the point that she almost died. In that case as well, the ruling of a “withdrawal” was also issued, and no arrest was even made, with legal experts calling the ruling into question.
Regarding the details of this case involving the Afghan stabbing, it is worth noting that this “withdrawal” clause in the German legal system can only be invoked when there is a “genuine” withdrawal.
As Remix News cited: “If the perpetrator believes they have done everything necessary for the victim to die, they must then perform a voluntary and genuine counter-act that causes the prevention of the victim’s death.”
In other words, while the Afghan stopped, the question is what motivated his “withdrawal.” Did he truly not want to kill her? A “genuine” withdrawal, in German legal tradition, would have likely meant he stopped stabbing the woman and then began treating her wounds and called the police. Instead, he just stabbed her and ran away, raising questions about whether this should constitute a “genuine” withdrawal of attempted murder. Nevertheless, that is how the court ruled.
The 27-year-old teacher suffered serious injuries, but they were not life-threatening and she was able to leave the hospital after three days. She also did not suffer from any permanent damage.
Hellbound and Down 