+++ UPDATE from September 17, 2025 +++ The appointment on September 18, 2025 will not take place due to illness. It will be rescheduled for November or December.
On September 18, 2025, a second trial will begin at the Eschwege District Court concerning a serious, racially motivated attack by three perpetrators on two residents of the Werra-Meißner district. In a first trial in early 2024, two of the perpetrators were already convicted of aggravated assault against the two victims, who are victims of anti-Black racism. A third suspect, who was only identified after the first trial and is alleged to have been instrumental in instigating the attack, must now answer for his actions in court.
On August 14, 2022, he, along with the two perpetrators who have already been convicted, allegedly subjected a now 56-year-old man from Eschwege and a now 66-year-old man from Witzenhausen to a barrage of racist insults, and then repeatedly punched and kicked both of them while they were on the ground, causing them significant injuries. Immediately before the attack, the two victims had been told to "piss off back to their own country.".
“The first trial ended with a positive signal for victims of racist violence: The perpetrator's motivation was emphatically acknowledged, something we rarely experience in our counseling practice, and which can at least initially ease the process of coming to terms with what happened for the victims. Nevertheless, they now have to confront the crime once again in court and face the person who is alleged to have primarily instigated it. They also encounter the perpetrators, who have already been convicted and are summoned as witnesses. This represents another psychological challenge for the victims, who are already struggling with the physical, mental, and financial consequences of the attack more than three years later”said the counselor from the victim support center response. Response offers counseling for victims of right-wing, racist, and antisemitic violence.
“My two clients have lived in Germany for decades. They were attacked and seriously injured solely because of their skin color. This racism must be prosecuted. It is gratifying that, thanks to the determined pursuit of the perpetrators and thorough investigative work based on the findings from the first trial, the suspected main perpetrator has now also been brought to trial,” states attorney Sven Adam, who represents both victims as co-plaintiffs.
The consultant from response adds: “Especially now, when right-wing, racist and anti-Semitic discourses are increasingly being conducted without restraint and people are denied belonging, participation and a voice, it is important that victims of this violence are seen and heard by state institutions such as courts and that perpetrators are held accountable.”
For further questions, please contact attorney Sven Adam using the contact details provided above, or the advisory service response (presse.response@frankfurt-evangelisch.de).
