Overview

• A German court on Thursday began proceedings against 28-year-old Afghan national Enamullah O., accused of fatally stabbing a 2-year-old boy and a 41-year-old man and injuring three others in a January 22 park attack.
• Prosecutors say psychiatric experts diagnosed paranoid schizophrenia and concluded he was not criminally responsible, and they are asking for his permanent placement in a secure psychiatric facility.
• Authorities told the court there is no indication of extremist or terrorist motivation, and the indictment describes delusions while noting he had watched a Turkish-titled “Motivating Combat Music” video minutes before the stabbings.
• The injured included a 2-year-old Syrian girl, a teacher and a 72-year-old man who intervened, and the suspect was arrested near the scene shortly after the attack.
• The case has intensified debate over migration policy, with reports of a failed 2023 deportation to Bulgaria and government moves since the election, including Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt’s plan to permit deportations to Afghanistan and other countries.