Germany: Migrant Jailed for Murdering Ex-Girlfriend, 15

A German court has sentenced a migrant to eight and a half years for murdering his 15-year-old ex-girlfriend.

Abdul D, believed to be Afghan, admitted stabbing Mia V in December in the south-western town of Kandel.

Prosecutors believe he acted out of jealousy and revenge after Mia, a German citizen, broke up with him.

The case sparked national outrage and led to far-right groups holding xenophobic protests as part of their broad anti-migrant campaign.

Demonstrations have also gripped the eastern city of Chemnitz, after a 35-year-old man was fatally stabbed and two men from Syria and Iraq were arrested.

On Saturday, protests took place in both cities – 350 people gathered in Kandel, and some 11,000 anti-migrant and counter-protesters faced off in Chemnitz.

What happened to Mia?

Mia and her killer met at school and dated for several months before she ended the relationship a few weeks before her death, prosecutors said.

She was stabbed seven times with a kitchen knife outside a shop on 27 December.

She and her parents had previously gone to the police about her ex-boyfriend’s harassing and threatening behaviour.

What do we know about the murderer?

His lawyer told reporters that he thought the Landau district court’s decision was correct and that his client had “accepted” the sentence.

The murder trial was held behind closed doors in a juvenile court, where prosecutors had sought a maximum term of 10 years.

The accused said he was 15 at the time of the crime but an expert medical assessment ordered by prosecutors said that he was more likely to be between 17 and 20 years old.

He arrived in Germany in April 2016 as an unaccompanied minor and had his request for asylum rejected in February 2017.

At the time of the crime, he was living in a supervised group in the town of Neustadt and attending school in Kandel.

Protests against migrants

The case is among a number of high-profile crimes said to involve asylum seekers which have stoked anger against migrants and put pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel over her liberal refugee policy.

Regular demonstrations have been held in Kandel, home to 9,000 people, by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in an attempt to bolster its anti-migrant campaign.

On the other side of the country – in Chemnitz – thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest, after a German-Cuban man was stabbed to death there on 26 August.

After the protests on Saturday, the victim’s widow told German media: “Daniel would never have wanted it! Never!”

She said her husband was neither right- nor left-wing and the protests in his name were “not about Daniel anymore.”

On Monday, several of Germany’s prominent bands are expected to attract thousands to Chemnitz for a free concert against xenophobia, under the hashtag #wirsindmehr (German for “there are more of us”).

Source: BBC