vAt the Flensburg Regional Court there was an incident during the announcement of the verdict against a 24-year-old man for manslaughter. The defendant collapsed in the courtroom on Tuesday afternoon, bleeding from the mouth. His interpreter had previously pointed out to the court that the man probably had a razor blade in his mouth. The defendant then obviously swallowed the object without anyone else being able to intervene. The police officers present immediately checked the defendant's mouth, but found no object, as a court spokesman later said. Whether the defendant actually brought a razor blade into the room and – if so – how he was able to do so requires further clarification.
Those involved in the proceedings had seen a metallic-looking object on the defendant's tongue. According to the court, it could have been a razor blade or the tip of a cutter knife. The 24-year-old was taken away in an ambulance lying on a stretcher and guarded by judicial officers. According to his lawyer, he was responsive. According to information from the court early in the evening, there was initially no further information about his state of health.
Killed with a stab in the skull
The sentencing continued on Tuesday afternoon. This is possible in the absence of a defendant, “if he leaves on his own initiative or becomes unfit to stand trial,” which also applies in the event of a possible suicide attempt, it said.
Shortly before the incident, the man had been sentenced to nine years in prison for manslaughter. He was accused of killing his 28-year-old roommate with a stab through the skull in December 2022 in Flensburg. Despite an emergency operation, the man died a few days after the crime as a result of the stab wound. The perpetrators and victims come from Somalia. The perpetrator initially fled; He was caught in Lille, France, three and a half weeks after the crime.
The defense attorney had called for an acquittal because his client's perpetration could not be proven beyond a doubt. The public prosecutor is convinced that there was an argument between the two men before the crime. The reason is said to have been a debt of 50 euros to the defendant. The public prosecutor had demanded a prison sentence of five and a half years for manslaughter in a less serious case.
Defendant pleaded innocent
After initially remaining silent, the defendant spoke to the chamber about the accusation for the first time on Tuesday. He claimed that the perpetrator was a third party he did not know by name – a drug dealer of the man who was killed. When asked repeatedly, he was unable to resolve contradictions regarding police interrogations.
The court did not believe the defendant's statements. There is sufficient and concrete evidence as well as objective, hard facts that he was the perpetrator, said the presiding judge. The judgment can be appealed.
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