A German court on Thursday handed an Afghan man a life sentence for a car-ramming attack in Munich last year that killed a two-year-old girl and her mother and left dozens injured.
The Munich court found the man, named only as Farhad N., guilty of multiple counts of murder and attempted murder.
What was Farhad N. convicted of?
The court found Farhad N. guilty of two counts of murder, 23 of attempted murder, and 22 counts of bodily harm, 19 of them serious.
Judges ruled the offences carried a "particular gravity of guilt," a designation that makes it far less likely the 25-year-old will ever be released from prison.
What happened during the Munich car-ramming attack?
Farhad N. drove a Mini Cooper around a police car and then accelerated into a 1,400-strong trade union march. He hurled a 37-year-old woman and her young daughter through the air for 10 metres, and both sustained severe head injuries from which they died several days later.
Presiding judge Michael Hoehne said the mother had deliberately chosen the back of the march because it had a stronger police presence and she felt safer there.
Hoehne described the aftermath as "a field of nothing but debris, 12 metres (39 feet) wide." He said some victims "are still suffering today" and quoted one as saying they had lived "one life before the attack and another one after it."
He added that the attack was not even deadlier only because the number of people Farhad N. ran over slowed and eventually stopped the car. Farhad N. showed no emotion as the verdict was read out.
Why did the Munich attack happen in the run-up to Germany's election?
The attack was one of several committed by foreign nationals ahead of last year's general election, which inflamed debate on immigration and security. It also came on the eve of the Munich Security Conference, a major gathering of political and defense figures.
The vote in February 2025 saw the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) achieve its best-ever result of over 20 percent, while the centre-right CDU/CSU came first and its leader Friedrich Merz became chancellor promising a tougher line on immigration. Since then, the CDU/CSU has slumped while the AfD has built a steady lead in opinion polls.
What motivated Farhad N.'s attack?
Prosecutors said during the trial that Farhad N. acted out of a "religious motivation" and shouted "Allahu akbar," meaning "God is the greatest," after the car rampage. He is not believed to have belonged to any organized movement such as the Islamic State group. Prosecutors also pointed to his loneliness and anxiety as contributing factors, though Farhad N. did not disclose any motivation himself during the trial.
Hoehne described Farhad N. as having "a fragile sense of self-worth" while trying to present "an idealized image of himself." His defense team asked for him to be sent to a psychiatric facility, but court-appointed experts determined his mental health problems did not reduce his degree of responsibility.
Who is Farhad N. and how was he radicalized?
Farhad N. arrived in Germany unaccompanied in 2016 at age 15. His asylum request was rejected, but he was allowed to stay in the country and find work. Police said he worked in security and was heavily engaged in fitness training and bodybuilding.
He is thought to have been radicalized in the months before the attack by consuming content online from radical Afghan preachers.
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