Life for German courtroom killer of Egyptian woman - Summary

Dresden, Germany - A German man found guilty of the courtroom murder of a pregnant Egyptian woman was sentenced to life imprisonment on Wednesday, after a high-profile case which has stirred emotions across both Germany and the Middle East. Marwa el-Shirbini, 31, was stabbed to death in July by Aleksandr Wiens, a German of Russian origin, during a hearing in a Dresden court where he had been fined for racially abusing her as an "Islamist" and a "slut."

The pharmacist's husband, Elwy Ali Okaz, was shot and injured by police as he tried to save his pregnant wife.

The judge ruled that Wiens had acted out of racist motives.

A "hatred of foreigners ran like a thread through the accused's time in Germany," judge Birgit Wiegand said as she sentenced Wiens for murder, attempted murder and causing dangerous bodily harm.

Wiens had confessed to the murder but claimed, in a statement read by his lawyer, that he had acted out of "fear and panic."

But the court disagreed. "He killed ... not out of fear and panic but out of revenge. He consciously exploited her innocence and defencelessness," Wieland said in her verdict.

Wiens showed no reaction as the verdict was read out.

Wieland said the 28-year-old must pay back all "material and immaterial damage" for the crime and its effects on the parents, the widower, the brother and the victim's three-year-old son.

Wiens was sentenced to life imprisonment without automatic parole - the highest sentence in Germany, where there is no death penalty.

The sentence, reserved for attacks of a heinous nature and those on unsuspecting victims, virtually rules out the possibility of release after 15 years - as can happen after less serious murder convictions.

Wiens stabbed Shirbini to death in front of her young son, and severely injured her husband during a hearing in a Dresden courtroom on July 1, where he faced a 330-euro (480-dollar) fine for verbal abuse.

The original incident between the two had occurred in 2008, in a children's playground in the city. Wiens had been sitting on a swing, and insulted Shirbini when she asked him to move to make way for her two-year-old son, Mustafa.

An autopsy report revealed that Shirbini had no chance of survival, after one of 16 knife blows had struck her in the heart.

Her husband, a scientist, was also injured when he came to his pregnant wife's aid. Wiens turned on him, before an armed policeman rushed into the courtroom and mistakenly shot Okaz in the leg.

Wiegand defended her colleague who presided over the July 1 hearing, after he was criticized for a security breach that allowed Wiens to smuggle a knife into the courtroom.

"There was no indication that an act of violence was impending," Wiegand said. Lawyers representing Shirbini's family had called for legal action against court officials for not carrying out security checks.

The murder of Shirbini, who wore the Islamic headscarf, caused outrage in Egypt and the Arab world, as many suspected that she had been killed merely because she was a Muslim.

In Cairo on Wednesday, reactions to the verdict were mixed.

Hanan Mohammed Mostafa, a 54-year old nurse, said: "This was an utterly heinous crime. Life in prison is too little. He should have been executed. He took an innocent woman's life. Marwa's only 'crime' was being a Muslim."

Osama Tharwat, a 23-year old cook, agreed. "This was a disgraceful crime. He should have been executed, especially considering that he took her unborn baby's life as well."

Ahmed Said, 20, took a softer view. "This was the correct verdict. The punishment fits the crime, 100 per cent."

The Egyptian ambassador, Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy, said that he was very happy with the sentence. Ayyub Axel Koehler, the head of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, expressed relief.

"We are proud of our legal system and independent judiciary," Koehler said in Dresden. "Now we have to hope that something like this doesn't repeat itself," he added.

Wiegand said that in the eyes of the murderer, all Muslims were Islamists.

Over eleven days of hearings, the court heard that Wiens had never made close friends or held down a job. Witnesses described him as socially inept, eccentric and unashamedly hostile to Muslims.

Documents revealed that Wiens had had a history of schizophrenia, but an expert psychiatrist said he could not plead diminished responsibility in his defense.

His defense team had argued for a verdict of manslaughter and announced they were considering an appeal of the verdict.

During the trial Wiens said that he had "ruined" his own life, and wished that he had killed himself. A policeman testified that Wiens had asked to be shot when he was arrested after attacking Shirbini.

The defendant kept his face covered during most of the trial, wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt and a facial mask. He mostly stared at the floor, apart from one outburst when he had to be restrained.

The lawyer of Shirbini's widower, Heiko Lesch, described the verdict as a "day of justice."

"The sentence won't bring back the beloved wife of Mr Okaz, or the mother of little Mustafa," Lesch told the German Press Agency dpa.

"However, I am happy that the perpetrator is receiving his fair punishment," the lawyer said.