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German officer convicted of plotting to kill politicians — Analysis

An officer who claimed to be a Syrian refuge-seeker was convicted of planning terrorist attacks

German army officer, who claimed to be from Syria has been charged with plotting terrorist attacks on politicians.

On Friday, the 33-year old German soldier in the armed forces was found guilty of planning a serious act to subvert, weapons crime and fraud. The sentence was five and a half years, which is almost the same as what was requested by prosecutors.

Franco A. fraudulently claimed state benefits. After registering as asylum seeker, he might have wanted to make migrants the victims of his plotted attacks. His legal troubles began after he was caught in February 2017 while trying to retrieve a handgun that he’d hidden in a Vienna airport bathroom.

Franco A. was freed by Austrian police. The incident was also reported to German authorities who found that Franco A.’s fingerprint was identical to that of someone who was Syrian asylum seeker. After being accused of having lived a double existence for over 15 months and plotting terror attacks, Franco A. was arrested. This could be attributed to his fake refugee identification while he continued working as an army officer.

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The officer’s alleged targets included then-justice minister Heiko Maas, German parliament member Claudia Roth, and anti-racism activist Anetta Kahane, founder of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation.

The soldier was branded a terrorist by the prosecution “right-wing terrorist”Investigators discovered that the suspect was stashing explosives, ammunition, and guns. His case triggered an investigation into far-right extremism within the ranks of Germany’s military.

Franco A. was released in November 2017, pending the disposition of his case. He was then ordered to return to custody after being found with a bag that contained Nazi patches and medals. Later, a search of Franco A.’s apartment turned up more Nazi memorabilia as well as machetes as well as a fake vaccine pass.

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Franco A.’s lawyers plan to appeal against the guilty verdict. The lieutenant denied the most serious allegations against him, saying that he stockpiled guns in case public order collapsed and that he didn’t plan any attacks. He claimed that he posed as a migrant to expose flaws in Germany’s refugee system.

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