The long-delayed trial shone a spotlight on neo-Nazi sympathies within the German military and the effectiveness of the security services in standing up to right-wing extremism — described by the interior minister as the biggest threat facing the country.
Albrecht, a 33-year-old father of three, had been in the dock at the regional superior court in the western city of Frankfurt since May 2021.
Koller said Albrecht harboured “right-wing extremist and racist-nationalist views that hardened over several years”.
Prosecutors had described the case as the first in the country’s post-war history in which a member of the armed forces was accused of planning a terrorist attack.
He darkened his skin with makeup to pose as a penniless refugee and hoodwinked immigration officials for 15 months, despite speaking no Arabic, in a bid to expose what he called the deep flaws in the system.
“Neither Arabic nor details about my story were necessary,” Albrecht testified, describing his conversations with immigration authorities.
Germany’s then defence minister Ursula von der Leyen, now European Commission chief, said Albrecht’s case pointed to a much larger “attitude problem” in the German military.
Read the article in The Australian.