A German court on Monday sentenced the attacker behind a deadly 2019 shooting on a synagogue in Halle to life in prison, the maximum sentence Germany allows, local media reported on Monday.
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Far-right extremist Stephan Balliet was found guilty of two counts of murder and over 50 counts of attempted murder at the end of his 26-day trial.
Judge Ursula Mertens repeatedly described his acts, which took place on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, as "cowardly" and "cruel."
In his closing statement, Balliet did not appear to show much remorse for his plot, which could have amounted to the worst anti-Semitic incident in Germany, Deutsche Welle reports.
Instead, he reiterated his anti-Semitic views and spewed some Holocaust denialist propaganda – which in itself is a crime in Germany.
In June 2020, Balliet tried to escape from prison, but was caught shortly after climbing over the security fence.
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He is not known to be a member of any specific far-right movement and is believed to have self-radicalized online.
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
