Afghan Man Jailed for Life Over Deadly Munich Car Attack

A court in Munich has sentenced an Afghan man, named only as Farhad N., to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of two counts of murder, 23 counts of attempted murder and 22 counts of bodily harm, 19 of them serious.

The court found that the offences carried a "particular gravity of guilt" — a designation that makes it much less likely the 25-year-old will ever be released from prison.

The court heard that Farhad N. drove a Mini Cooper around a police car and then accelerated into a 1,400-strong trade union march, hurling a 37-year-old woman and her young daughter through the air for 10 metres. Both sustained severe head injuries and died several days later.

Presiding judge Michael Hoehne said the mother had deliberately chosen the back of the march because it had a stronger police presence and she felt safer there. He described the aftermath as "a field of nothing but debris, 12 metres (39 feet) wide".

Some of those injured "are still suffering today", Hoehne said, quoting one victim as saying they had lived "one life before the attack and another one after it". The only reason the attack was not even deadlier, he said, was that the number of people run over slowed and eventually stopped the car.

Farhad N. showed no emotion as the verdict was read out.

Prosecutors said during the trial that he acted out of a "religious motivation" and had uttered the words "Allahu akbar", meaning "God is the greatest", after the rampage. However, he is not believed to have been part of any organised jihadist movement such as the so-called Islamic State group. Prosecutors also pointed to his loneliness and anxiety as contributing factors. Farhad N. did not disclose any motivation during the trial.

Hoehne described him as having "a fragile sense of self-worth" while trying to present "an idealised image of himself". His defence team had asked for him to be sent to a psychiatric facility, despite court-appointed experts determining that his mental health problems did not reduce his degree of responsibility.

Farhad N. arrived in Germany unaccompanied in 2016, aged 15. His asylum request was rejected but he was allowed to stay and find work. Police said he worked in security and was heavily engaged in fitness training and bodybuilding. He is thought to have been radicalised in the months before the attack by consuming online content from radical Afghan preachers.

The attack, which came on the eve of the Munich Security Conference, was one of several committed by foreign nationals ahead of the February 2025 general election, inflaming debate on immigration and security. That election saw the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) record its best-ever result of over 20%. The centre-right CDU/CSU came first and its leader Friedrich Merz became chancellor, promising a tougher line on immigration. Since then, the CDU/CSU has slumped while the AfD has established a steady lead in opinion polls.