In the proceedings for the series of right-wing extremist attacks in Berlin-Neukölln, there was a decisive turning point before the trial against two neo-Nazis opened on Monday: The regional court considers it possible that two neo-Nazis could be convicted of a homicide.

With a corresponding decision, the court upheld an appeal by Left MP Ferat Kocak and admitted him as a joint plaintiff in the trial that began on Monday before the district court. Lawyer Mirko Röder, defense attorney for one of the main suspects, is now demanding that the proceedings beginning before the Tiergarten district court be suspended.

So far, the two neo-Nazis Sebastian T. and Tilo P. have been charged with property damage and arson. They allegedly set fire to Kocak’s car in 2018. Only the fire brigade prevented the flames from fully spreading to the house where Kocak and his parents slept.

At first, the district court did not want to admit Kocak to the accessory prosecution because the psychological consequences of the attack were not severe enough. In addition, no accessory prosecution is permitted by law for the previously accused damage to property and arson.

[Because of the series of right-wing extremist attacks, two well-known neo-Nazis are now on trial. But the evidence is thin. Victims are heard for the first time. The whole story with Tagesspiegel Plus]

Only after Kocak’s complaint did the regional court allow him as a joint plaintiff. The accused’s intention to kill was “not so remote” that Kocak could be denied access as a joint plaintiff. In view of “the intensity of the fire,” the assessment that the defendants T and P would have accepted the spread of the fire to the residential building and largely the death of the people staying there and accepted it, was not far-fetched, according to the decision of the regional court.

Tilo P.’s lawyer says Kocak has “special knowledge”

A court spokeswoman said this “distant possibility” of a homicide was decisive for the admission of a private prosecution. However, that does not mean that there has been sufficient suspicion of a crime so far. The requirements for admitting an accessory prosecution are significantly lower than, for example, for bringing charges.

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There is a possibility that the accused “will be convicted of attempted homicide (…), according to the court’s decision. The purpose of the accessory prosecution is also that Kocak “wants to actively work towards the – actually uncertain – conviction for such a crime”.

This could have consequences for the process, as Mirko Röder, Tilo P.’s lawyer, says. He wants to apply for the stay of the process. “Now a veritable and prominent joint plaintiff, equipped with special knowledge from the investigative committee of the House of Representatives, is in the process,” says Röder.

His client is now facing charges of attempted homicide. “We have to prepare for that, realign the defense.” In addition, he had to “take advantage of civil law expertise” because of possible claims for damages by the victim.

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In addition, Röder questioned whether the extended lay judges’ court at the Tiergarten district court is still the right first instance for the process when an attempted homicide is now in the room. “I would have expected the district court to take over the proceedings right away,” he said.

In any case, not a few Berlin criminal lawyers are surprised: If there is a trial because of the arson attacks, why in the Kocak case only because of property damage and not immediately because of attempted murder? Then the lawsuit would not have ended up before the district court, but before the regional court and eventually through appeal and revision at the Federal Court of Justice.

The Berlin judiciary could have been embarrassed because of the possibly poor evidence of the prosecution. But the public prosecutor’s office filed the charges in such a way that the case remains in the Berlin instances and ends up in the Supreme Court at most.

A total of five men have been charged. The focus is on the two men aged 35 and 39 from the right-wing extremist scene, P. was a member of the AfD for a time, T. was once with the NPD and has been active in the “Third Way” party for some time. The allegations are threats, arson or aiding and abetting, property damage and use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations.