Munich car-ramming verdict due for Afghan man

A verdict is due Thursday for an Afghan man accused of driving a car into a trade union march in Munich last year, killing a two-year-old girl and her mother and injuring dozens of people.

The defendant, named only as Farhad N., has been on trial since January. Prosecutors accuse him of deliberately steering a Mini Cooper into a march of about 1,400 people. He was 24 at the time.

Prosecutors have sought a life sentence with added conditions that would make early release much less likely. Farhad N. initially faced two counts of murder and 44 counts of attempted murder, but half of the attempted murder counts were later replaced by bodily harm counts, 19 of them serious.

The 37-year-old woman and her daughter were thrown through the air and suffered severe head injuries, from which they died several days later.

Prosecutors say Farhad N. acted with a religious motivation and uttered “Allahu Akbar” after the car rampage. They do not believe he was part of an organised jihadist movement such as the Islamic State group.

His defence team has asked for him to be sent to a psychiatric facility. Court-appointed experts found that his mental health problems did not reduce his degree of responsibility.