German high court overturns verdict for influencer who fired rocket into Berlin flat

High court orders new trial over intent

Germany's Federal Court of Justice overturned the conviction of Palestinian influencer Atallah Younes, ruling that the initial trial contained substantial legal errors regarding criminal intent. In April 2025, the Berlin Regional Court sentenced the defendant to six months of probation solely for property damage after he discharged a firework rocket into a residential flat. Public prosecutors appealed the decision, arguing that the court set unreasonably high hurdles for proving intent and disregarded the severe risks posed by the explosion. The 5th Criminal Senate in Leipzig vacated the ruling and referred case 5 StR 153/26 back to the Berlin district for a second full proceeding.

The grounds of the judgment exhibit legal errors regarding intent, containing unresolved contradictions and laying down exaggerated requirements for the formation of judicial conviction.

The New Year's Eve explosion in Neukölln

The incident took place at approximately 18:30 on 31 December 2024 in the district of Berlin-Neukölln, where Younes was staying during a temporary visit from the West Bank. The 23-year-old ignited a commercial New Year's Eve rocket directly from his hand, aiming it across the street at a 45-degree angle toward multi-story residential buildings. The projectile penetrated a closed double-box window on the third floor and detonated inside the bedroom of an apartment. A married couple was present in an adjoining room during the blast, and the tenant managed to throw a smoldering remnant of the firework out of the window. The explosion destroyed parts of the interior furniture, though neither resident suffered physical injury.

Online publication and airport apprehension

Following the explosion, Younes left the scene before returning to the flat on the following day to apologize directly to the resident. He filmed both the initial launching of the rocket and his subsequent visit to the damaged home, publishing the clips with background music on his Instagram account. Younes operated the social media channel with comedic daily life content to generate income through advertising partnerships. The video showing the rocket penetrating the apartment accumulated more than six million views prior to its deletion. On 4 January 2025, federal police officers arrested Younes at Berlin Brandenburg Airport as he attempted to travel back to the West Bank, placing him in pre-trial detention.

Disputed legal standards and retrial scope

During the initial trial in April 2025, prosecutors sought a two-year probation sentence on charges of attempted aggravated arson, attempted dangerous bodily harm, attempted detonation of explosives, and property damage. The presiding judge dismissed the more severe charges after accepting the defense's argument, which relied on testimony from a fire safety specialist asserting that the defendant could reasonably assume building windows would withstand fireworks. The lower court concluded that Younes did not consciously accept the danger of harming residents, allowing him to leave the courtroom as a free man and depart Germany. The Federal Court of Justice rejected this assessment, establishing that the upcoming retrial must re-evaluate whether launching fireworks at residential facades constitutes conditional intent for violent offenses.