A German court has delivered a 13-year prison sentence to a Syrian national for the attempted murder of a Spanish tourist at Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial in February 2025. The Berlin District Court found Wassim Al M., identified under German privacy conventions, guilty of attempted murder and seeking membership in a foreign terrorist organization.
The 20-year-old defendant, who arrived in Germany as an unaccompanied minor in 2023 and secured asylum status, traveled from his residence in Leipzig specifically to execute an attack in the name of the Islamic State. Presiding Judge Doris Husch revealed that the perpetrator selected the memorial site under the mistaken belief that he would encounter Jewish visitors there.
On February 21, 2025, the assailant stabbed a 31-year-old Spanish tourist in the throat while shouting “Allahu akbar” (God is great). The victim survived the assault but continues to suffer significant physical and psychological consequences, remaining unable to work and undergoing ongoing treatment.
The defendant was apprehended approximately three hours following the attack when he approached police officers with visible bloodstains on his clothing and hands. During trial proceedings, he expressed immediate regret for his actions, claiming he had been pressured by an online acquaintance he met while viewing Islamic State propaganda videos.
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, comprising 2,700 concrete slabs near Brandenburg Gate, stands as a solemn tribute to the six million Jewish victims of Nazi persecution. This security incident occurred just two days before national elections where immigration policy had emerged as a central issue following several deadly attacks involving immigrants in preceding months.