Around seven months after the violent death of a trans man at Christopher Street Day (CSD) in Münster, the regional court wants to announce its verdict today. The public prosecutor had yesterday demanded a youth sentence of five years for the 20-year-old accused. She also pleaded for placement in a reformatory. The man is charged with assault resulting in death.
The accused is said to have hit Malte C. in the head at the CSD in August 2022 when he was protecting people who had taken part. The 25-year-old fell on the back of his head on the asphalt and died days later as a result of a traumatic brain injury. The defense had spoken out in favor of an “appropriate youth penalty” – without naming an exact penalty. The most important thing for the client is therapy. He should also get away from drug addiction and alcoholism.
Fully culpable according to the indictment
The act had caused horror throughout Germany and also sparked debates about queer hostility and fueling discriminatory slogans and hate speech in social networks. However, an expert and the public prosecutor saw no evidence of a homophobic, anti-queer or transphobic attitude in the case of the accused. The psychiatric expert, juvenile court assistant and defense described that the Russian had revealed significant problems with his own homosexual tendencies.
According to the indictment, the man is fully culpable. The fact that the 20-year-old confessed to the crime and credibly regrets it should be taken into account as a mitigating sentence. The adolescent is clearly delayed in his development. The prosecution said he had been noticed several times for violent crimes, was convicted once of physical harm and will probably also commit similar crimes in the future.
Juvenile criminal law puts the concept of education in the foreground. It allows for a sentence of six months to ten years in the case of a conviction for bodily harm resulting in death. According to adult criminal law, between 3 and 15 years imprisonment would be possible.
