Germany: Court sentences ex-soldier five and a half years prison for posing as Syrian refugee

A German ex-soldier has been sentenced five and a half years prison for posing as a Syrian refugee while planning a far-right attack on senior politicians.

Presiding judge Christoph Koller said, "The accused (Franco Albrecht) is guilty of planning a serious act of violence endangering the state."

Described by the interior minister as the biggest threat facing the country, the long-delayed trial shone a spotlight on neo-Nazi sympathies within the German military.

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Highlighting the effectiveness of the security services in standing up to right-wing extremism, Koller said Albrecht harboured "right-wing extremist and racist-nationalist views that hardened over several years."

Since May 2021, Albrecht had been in the dock at the regional superior court in the western city of Frankfurt and wanted to target leading public figures.

In what he believed would lead to the "replacement of the German nation", Albrecht's cited cabinet ministers, MPs, and a prominent Jewish human rights activist among his potential targets

In Germany's post-war history, this is the first case in which a member of the armed forces was accused of planning a terrorist attack.

After he was charged and is expected to discharge should the conviction be upheld, the German military suspended Albrecht.

In a bid to expose what he called the deep flaws in the system, Albrecht darkened his skin with makeup to pose as a penniless refugee and hoodwinked immigration officials for 15 months.

(With inputs from agencies)

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