Munich court hands life sentence to Afghan man for 2025 car-ramming at union rally that killed mother and daughter

The attack

On February 13, 2025, Farhad N., a 25-year-old Afghan who had arrived in Germany in 2016 as a 15-year-old refugee, drove a car into a Ver.di trade union demonstration in Munich. He accelerated past a police vehicle securing the march and struck the crowd from behind at 34 to 42 km/h, killing a 37-year-old mother and her 2-year-old daughter. The mother, a native of Algeria employed as an engineer by the city of Munich, had deliberately positioned herself at the rear of the demonstration near police, feeling safer there. More than 40 people were injured, several with life-threatening injuries. The court heard that some victims remain unhealed: one man recently underwent further leg operations, and many suffer severe psychological consequences.

The verdict

On Thursday, the Munich Higher Regional Court sentenced Farhad N. to life imprisonment for two counts of murder, 23 counts of attempted murder, 19 counts of dangerous bodily harm, and 3 counts of intentional bodily harm. The court found "particularly serious guilt," a designation that makes parole after the standard 15 years highly unlikely; under German practice, release may be possible only after 20 to 25 years. The sentence followed the demand of federal prosecutors. The defense had sought 15 years plus psychiatric confinement, citing signs of hebephrenic schizophrenia, but the court rejected this, though a psychiatric expert did diagnose a personality disorder.

Murder2

Attempted murder23

Dangerous bodily harm19

Intentional bodily harm3

Murder

2 counts

Attempted murder

23 counts

Dangerous bodily harm

19 counts

Intentional bodily harm

3 counts

Data from the article text

Motive and the judge's reasoning

The court found that Farhad N. acted out of religious motivation, seeking to kill randomly chosen people he considered infidels in reaction to the situation of Muslims in Islamic countries, including Afghanistan and Gaza. Judge Michael Höhne described him as a man with fragile self-esteem who had radicalized in his Islamic faith, praying before the attack, reciting the Throne Verse of the Quran, and sending a voice message with the Muslim confession of faith to an acquaintance.

“With this, the defendant wanted to commit a godly act and prove himself to Allah, to himself, and to his family as a good Muslim.”

The federal prosecutor told the court the act was designed for the destruction of human life, and that in the defendant's perception the attack corresponded to Allah's will and was a required response to the actions of the USA and other Western states in Gaza and Afghanistan. The court determined that the car's gear disengaged for reasons still unexplained, preventing further deaths; Farhad N. never braked, keeping his foot on the accelerator throughout.

“You have done a disservice to Muslims, to foreigners, and to minorities. Right-wing and far-right circles use precisely crimes like this to stir up hatred against foreigners, Muslims, and minorities among the population.”

Political aftermath

The Munich attack was one of several involving immigrants in late 2024 and early 2025 that pushed migration to the center of Germany's federal election campaign. In December 2024, a Saudi-born man drove an SUV into the Magdeburg Christmas market, killing six. In January 2025, a Syrian attacked toddlers at a daycare, killing two, including a 2-year-old Moroccan-German boy. After that attack, CDU leader Friedrich Merz, now chancellor, declared "it is enough" and pledged that no asylum seeker would enter the country under his government. The CDU won the election on February 23, 2025, with over 28 percent, while the AfD took 21 percent. The AfD has since risen to around 28 percent in polls, with the economy now cited as its supporters' primary concern.