German Prosecutors Demand Life Imprisonment for Afghan Man Accused in Munich Attack
The German Federal Prosecutor’s Office has requested the Munich State High Court to sentence a 25-year-old Afghan man accused of attacking a trade union march with a vehicle to life imprisonment. Prosecutors say he deliberately drove his car into the crowd with intent to kill.
The prosecution has also called for the recognition of a “special serious crime,” a designation that, if accepted, would significantly limit the possibility of parole after 15 years in prison.
The incident occurred on February 14, 2025, in downtown Munich, resulting in the deaths of a 37-year-old woman and her two-year-old daughter, and injuries to 44 others. German media have reported the suspect’s name as Farhad Noori.
The prosecution has charged him with two counts of murder, 22 counts of attempted murder, and 22 counts of bodily harm, mostly of a severe nature. The initial indictment included 44 counts of attempted murder, but according to the German Press Agency, around 24 lesser charges were excluded from the main proceedings due to the severity of the expected sentence.
The prosecution described the attack as a “politically and religiously motivated assault” and stated that the accused considered his actions to be in accordance with the “will of God” and a response to the actions of the United States and some Western countries in Gaza and Afghanistan. According to the prosecutors, anger, frustration, and personal bitterness also played a role in his decision, and the victims had no involvement in his problems.
According to information presented in court, the Afghan asylum seeker entered Germany in 2016 and was known as a relatively low-profile individual before the attack. Prosecutors believe he had developed extremist tendencies shortly before the incident, influenced by speeches from some radical Afghan clerics on social media. The final verdict in the case is scheduled for August 6, 2026.
