ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A German court on Wednesday handed failed Iraqi Kurdish asylum seeker Ali Bashar a life sentence for the rape and murder of teenager Susanna Feldmann.
Prosecutors in Germany charged Bashar in January for the rape and beating death of Feldman on May 23, 2018.
Before issuing the sentence on Wednesday, the presiding judge said Bashar had committed a “cold-blooded murder” and showed “neither remorse nor empathy.” He added that the 22-year-old spoke “no sincere word of regret” during the trial which began on March 11, 2019.
A day after his hearing began, Bashar confessed to the court that he murdered the German teen, but denied charges that he raped the 14-year-old.
An autopsy of the German teenager’s body, however, revealed signs of a violent and sexual attack.
Read More: Iraqi Kurd Ali Bashar tells court in Germany he murdered 14-year-old girl
Following the murder, Bashar fled from Germany to the Kurdistan Region. Police in the province of Duhok arrested him after Berlin issued a warrant for his arrest. He later admitted to Kurdish authorities that he had killed Feldman.
Duhok city police chief Tariq Ahmed told Kurdistan 24 in June that the suspect had admitted to the crime following interrogation conducted by Kurdish security authorities.
After his confession, the Iraqi Kurdish man was deported back to Germany and taken to a Frankfurt jail.
The Feldman murder, dubbed the “Susanna Case,” sparked controversy across Germany regarding the country’s immigration policy.
Millions of immigrants from various countries have come to the European nation since a 2015 decision to open the border to refugees fleeing Syria and other nations. It has since become a hot-button issue, further dividing an already partisan and hostile political environment in the country.
Editing by John J. Catherine