Germany: Court jails man behind far-right e-mail threats

On Monday, the Berlin regional court handed a four-year jail sentence to a 32-year-old man convicted of sending threatening e-mails to a range of public institutions and politicians under a seemingly neo-Nazi pseudonym. He was found guilty on 26 counts of disturbing the peace.

The court also ordered that the man receive inpatient treatment in a psychiatric clinic, saying that he was likely to commit other serious offenses if he did not receive therapy. It said his personality disorder meant his responsibility for his actions was diminished. The presiding judge described the man as "extremely dangerous."

According to the court, the man sent emails nationwide threatening to carry out lethal attacks, including bomb attacks, to various courts, public authorities, shopping centers, press outlets, police and parliamentarians between December 2018 and April 2019.

Some of the emails appeared to come from a group called the "NationalSozialisticheOffensive" ("National Socialist Offensive"), suggesting a far-right source.

Irrational demands

The court said some of the emails made irrational demands, such as calling on the popular singer Helene Fischer to upload a video on the internet in which she talked about her thoughts on Germany.

In January 2019, court buildings were evacuated after an email threat was received but no explosives were found.

The accused, who had a prior conviction and comes from the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, was arrested in April of that year. Threatening emails continued to be sent even after his arrest, but authorities believed they could be copycat offenses.

The verdict of the court is subject to appeal.

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