Niklas Pöhler case Both sides seek acquittal for Walid S.

Bonn · In a surprise turn of events in the Niklas Pöhler case, the prosecution are asking for the main defendant, Walid S., to be acquitted. One reason is his similarity to Hakim D.

In a surprise move in the Niklas Pöhler court case, public prosecutor Florian Geßler has requested an acquittal for the main defendant, Walid S. He explained in his closing speech that after being convinced at the start of the proceedings of Walid S.’s guilt, he began to doubt his complicity during the trial. A particular reason was his similarity to the other suspect, Hakim D.

“I cannot say with the necessary conviction that it was the defendant who dealt Niklas the deadly blow,” said Geßlar. The prosecutor said the defendant’s guilt was not beyond reasonable doubt even though Walid S. was capable of the crime. “This crime is comparable to crimes already carried out by the defendant.” These include an assault on 30 April 2016, a week before the death of Niklas Pöhler.

Walid S. had admitted hitting and kicking another youth at that time. “Walid S. denies hitting his victim on the head with a bottle, but it is clear to me he did,” said Geßler. He therefore asked for a suspended youth custody sentence of one year for the crime of 30 April and an acquittal in the Niklas case.

It apparently cannot be ruled out that witnesses possibly mixed up Walid S. and Hakim D. Hakim D. is also capable of such a crime and he looks very similar to Walid S. “After gathering evidence, there are two possible perpetrators and I can no longer say which is the actual perpetrator,” said the prosecutor. He finds this outcome to the trial very unsatisfactory. Above all he is sorry for the mother of the deceased.

On 7 May 2016, 17-year-old Niklas Pöhler from Bad Breisig was attacked close to Bad Godesberg station while on his way back from a concert and so seriously injured by a blow to the head that he died six days later. Ten days after the incident, Walid S. was arrested as a suspect. He was charged along with an alleged second perpetrator, Roman W.

Right from the start, investigations also focussed on the 22-year-old Tunisian, Hakim D. He was supposed to be deported because of other crimes but this was postponed because of the investigations in the Niklas case. D. is currently in custody. Although the prosecution could find no evidence of Hakim D.’s participation in the attack on Niklas, the 22-year-old again became the focus during the trial against Walid S. A witness said an acquaintance of hers recognised Hakim D. as Niklas’s attacker but was too scared to tell the truth in court. However, the witness denied this and stuck by his evidence that he did not know Niklas’s attacker.

The defence lawyer Martin Kretschmer also requested an acquittal for his client Walid S. in the Niklas case. The lawyer for Niklas Pöhler’s mother was absent due to illness and so could not give a closing speech. This will now take place on 3 May. The verdict will be announced at midday on the same day. (Original text: Rita Klein and Sebastian Fink. Translated by Kate Carey.)

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