Overview

• The Higher Regional Court in Düsseldorf convicted 27-year-old Issa al H. for the 23 August 2024 city‑festival stabbings in Solingen that left three dead and eight injured.
• Judges found him guilty of three murders, ten attempted murders and membership in IS, concluding he targeted revelers from behind as an ideologically motivated act.
• A psychiatric expert said he was fully culpable despite an IQ of 71 and posed a high risk of reoffending, which underpinned the order for preventive detention after prison.
• Evidence included a pledge video to the IS leader, online propaganda and attempts to have IS claim the attack; the defense opposed preventive detention and reserved the right to appeal.
• Survivors condemned the defendant’s smiling and thumbs-up gesture during the verdict; the court awarded damages to victims as NRW lawmakers examine failed deportation efforts and prosecutors continue probing possible accomplices.