A Munich court sentenced 25-year-old Farhad N to life in prison after convicting him of driving into a trade-union march on Feb. 13, 2025, killing a 37-year-old woman and her two-year-old daughter and injuring more than 40 people. He was found guilty on two counts of murder, 23 counts of attempted murder and related charges. Judges deemed him a religious extremist and excluded him from the standard 15-year parole review. His defense had sought psychiatric treatment, citing signs of schizophrenia.
Munich Driver Sentenced to Life After Deliberately Plowing Into Trade-Union March
Emergency services at the scene after a car was driven into a group of people attending a Ver.di union demonstration in Munich, Germany, on Feb. 13, 2025. File Photo by Paul/Vifogra/EPA-EFE
A German court on Aug. 6 sentenced 25-year-old Farhad N to life in prison after finding him guilty of killing two people and injuring more than 40 by driving his Mini Cooper into a crowd in Munich last year.
Attack and Victims
On Feb. 13, 2025, Farhad N, an Afghan national, drove into an estimated crowd of about 1,400 people who were participating in a trade-union march. The vehicle struck and killed a 37-year-old woman and her two-year-old daughter. More than 40 marchers sustained injuries.
Court Ruling and Motive
The defendant was convicted on two counts of murder, 23 counts of attempted murder and additional related charges. In handing down the sentence, the presiding judge said the defendant acted "to commit an act of pleasing to God and to prove himself to be a good Muslim in the eyes of Allah, himself and his family."
Judges concluded that Farhad N was a religious extremist and ruled he should not be eligible for the routine 15-year parole review that many life prisoners in Germany receive.
Defense Arguments
Defense attorneys had argued that their client shows signs of schizophrenia and asked the court both to impose a 15-year prison term and to order psychiatric hospitalization instead of a life sentence. The court rejected those requests.
Context
The verdict follows a similar incident last month in Berlin when a vehicle struck people leaving a Pride celebration, killing one woman and injuring 29 others. German authorities say the Berlin suspect is a German citizen of Lebanese descent.
The Munich court's decision emphasizes both the severity of the attack and the judges' finding of extremist motivation, which the court treated as grounds to deny the usual early parole consideration.
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