Imprisoned German synagogue attacker convicted of hostage-taking in attempted jailbreak

Stephan Balliet at his original trial at the Regional Court in Magdeburg, September 2020.
Stephan Balliet at his original trial at the Regional Court in Magdeburg, September 2020. Copyright Hendrik Schmidt/Pool via AP
Copyright Hendrik Schmidt/Pool via AP
By Euronews with AP
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Stephan Baillet live-streamed his 2019 armed assault on a synagogue, in which he killed two.

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A German far-right extremist already serving a life sentence following an attempt to attack a synagogue in 2019 was convicted on Tuesday of hostage-taking in the course of a jailbreak attempt.

Stephan Balliet, 32, was sentenced to seven years in prison, German news agency dpa reported. He also was ordered to make payments to several people.

The defendant acknowledged during the trial that in December 2022, he took prison officers in the eastern town of Burg hostage using a homemade weapon in an attempt to escape.

Other guards ultimately overwhelmed him and the hostages were freed unharmed.

Bullet holes in the wooden door of the synagogue in Halle, Germany.
Bullet holes in the wooden door of the synagogue in Halle, Germany.Markus Schreiber/Copyright 2020 The AP. All rights reserved

Balliet was sentenced to life in prison in 2020 for his attack the previous year, in which he killed two people.

Armed with multiple firearms and explosives, Balliet attacked the synagogue in Halle on Yom Kippur, Judaism's holiest day.

After failing to break down the synagogue's door, he killed a passer-by and a man inside a nearby fast-food restaurant.

The antisemitic attack, which Balliet streamed live on the internet, caused shock in Germany.

In the hostage-taking case, the Stendal state court moved the proceedings to the larger city of Magdeburg, which has a high-security courtroom.

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