German court jails girl who stabbed policeman in name of ISIS

During the trial, which started in October, her lawyer had argued that she lacked the capacity to know she was doing wrong.

By REUTERS
Updated: JANUARY 26, 2017 16:36
German policemen monitor the trains at the main station in Munich, Germany September 14, 2015. (photo credit: REUTERS)
German policemen monitor the trains at the main station in Munich, Germany September 14, 2015.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
A German court jailed a teenage German-Moroccan girl on Thursday for stabbing a policeman at a train station on the orders of Islamic State militants.
Safia S., a dual citizen aged 16, was convicted of attempted murder and being a supporter of the jihadist group by a regional court in the northern city of Celle.
Her defense lawyer said he would appeal the six-year sentence, which he called "unquestionably high", at the federal high court in the southwestern city of Karlsruhe.
During the trial, which started in October, her lawyer had argued that she lacked the capacity to know she was doing wrong.
Prosecutors said Safia S. traveled to Istanbul in January last year where she met members of Islamic State who planned to help her enter territory it controlled in Syria.
While in Istanbul, they said, she received orders to carry out a "martyrdom attack" in Germany, where investigators said they believe she was radicalized.
Then aged 15, she stabbed and seriously wounded the policeman at the train station in Hanover in February after she was brought back to Germany by her mother, prosecutors said.
A now 20-year-old German-Syrian man, named as Mohamad K., was sentenced to two-and-half years in prison as an accomplice after failing to inform the police despite knowing of Safia's plan.