Germany: Syrian jailed for killing which sparked far-right Chemnitz riots

M/S Police car entering the Court House in Dresden
W/S The entrance of the Court
M/S Security men entering the Court House
M/S Sign at the entrance of the Court
C/U Sign at the entrance of the Court
SOT, Petra Kurschner, spokesperson for Chemnitz Court (German): "The accused has been found guilty today of the joint manslaughter and the inflicted bodily injuries. He has therefore been sentenced to nine year and six months' imprisonment."
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SOT, Petra Kurschner, spokesperson for Chemnitz Court (German): "I don't know how the defendants came to this point, in the run-up they phoned the BGH (Federal Court of Justice) to ensure another court would be made responsible for the case, namely none in East Germany, to which the BGH has already said there was no connecting factor."
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SOT, Petra Kurschner, spokesperson for Chemnitz Court (German): "The chair said once again that this was not politically motivated. The act itself was not politically motivated, there are no indications of this. The accused was arrested after the incident as the main suspect, there was not yet the subsequent political agitation, which is independent from what had taken place."
M/S Courthouse wall's signs
SOT, Ricarda Lang, lawyer for Alaa S. (German): "We have already lodged revisions under the authority of our mandate. This is a sad day for the rule of law and where it is applied. I would just like to remind everyone that after the concluding statements, the court took three hours to announce their judgement, do you believe that the it was fully discussed - even after the judgement was made on the very first day?"
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SOT, Ricarda Lang, lawyer for Alaa S. (German): "To suggest that the court had no motive, I would argue that the court was not uninfluenced by the political climate in Chemnitz and I am 100 percent convinced of that. I do not believe that the court could have been free of that. We said that from the very beginning and it has come true. I am also convinced that had these proceedings taken place in another court, such as in North Rhine-Westphalia , Hamburg or somewhere else in another city or state, that they would never have come to this judgement."
M/S The prosecutor Stephan Butzkies meeting journalists
SOT, Stephan Butzkies, prosecutor (German): "Of course, the evidence is laid out in course of the trial, there is hard evidence, eyewitness evidence and, of course, timeline evidence and overall it provides corresponding proof. Therefore I believe, the court, based on their reasons, decided which evidence was without doubt linked to this sentence and, well, it was in agreement to the judgement I came to based on the evidence."
M/S Cameras and journalists
SOT, Oliver Minkley, lawyer for Daniel H.'s family (German): "I have to say very clearly that there was no political influence here in any way, the only one politicising this case were the defendants who had attempted to politicise this trial at every corner."
W/S Dresden Court
M/S Cars outside the Dresden Court
SCRIPT
A Syrian man was sentenced to nine-and-a-half years in jail at a courthouse in Dresden on Thursday for the fatal stabbing which triggered far-right riots in the city of Chemnitz last year.
Alaa S., 24, was found guilty of manslaughter and serious bodily harm following the death of 35-year-old carpenter Daniel H. in Chemnitz last August.
Another suspect, believed to be of Iraqi origin, is thought to have fled Germany.
The killing sparked a wave of far-right rioting and neo-Nazi marches in a region where Alternative for Germany (AfD) enjoys strong support.
After the sentence Alaa. S's lawyer Ricarda Lang she was '100 percent convinced' that the ruling was influenced by the 'political climate in Chemnitz.'
"I am also convinced that had these proceedings taken place in another court, such as in North Rhine-Westphalia, Hamburg or somewhere else in another city or state, that they would never have come to this judgement," she said after proceedings were held in Dresden, some 80km (50mi) from Chemnitz, in eastern Germany
However, the lawyer for Daniel H.'s family Oliver Minkley said: "I have to say very clearly that there was no political influence here in any way, the only one politicising this case were the defendants who had attempted to politicise this trial at every corner."
The judgement comes at a key moment in regional politics as elections are slated for a week's time and AfD are expected to make major gains in eastern Germany.