Court sets 24-year minimum term for NSU's Beate Zschäpe, keeping her jailed until 2035

The ruling

The Higher Regional Court in Munich has set a minimum term of 24 years for Beate Zschäpe, the convicted far-right terrorist from the National Socialist Underground (NSU). She must serve at least that long before release can be considered. The sixth criminal senate announced the decision on Tuesday, 27 October 2026. Her pre-trial custody, which began in 2011, is counted toward the 24 years. The court also declined to suspend the rest of her sentence on probation, and the decision is not yet final.

Why early release was refused

The senate had already ruled on Friday, 23 October, that a suspended release after 15 years was not an option given the gravity of her guilt. After 15 years behind bars the court must examine whether the rest of the sentence can be suspended, but only after the 24-year minimum does the question of a positive criminal prognosis become relevant. Unlike at the original trial, Zschäpe has now admitted knowing in advance about nine of the ten NSU murders, and the court weighed this in her favour. It pointed to her testimony in a trial against a woman charged as an NSU supporter and to a personal hearing before the senate. The court said she had expressed "shame about having destroyed or significantly impaired the lives of innocent, arbitrarily selected people." It also found that she had distanced herself from the National Socialist ideology behind her crimes, and that her conduct in custody gave no sign that her far-right attitude had persisted.

The original conviction

In July 2018 the Munich court convicted Zschäpe as a co-perpetrator of the NSU murders of nine migrants and one policewoman, and imposed a life sentence. The same court found the particular gravity of her guilt, which rules out release after 15 years. Zschäpe lived underground for years with the NSU trio, Uwe Böhnhardt and Uwe Mundlos, without being detected. The group was unmasked in 2011, the year Zschäpe went into pre-trial custody. The NSU was linked to ten murders, several bombings and numerous armed robberies. She is serving her sentence at the JVA Chemnitz prison in Saxony.

What happens next

Federal prosecutors had demanded a minimum term of at least 25 years, while Zschäpe's defence had asked for 20 years. The court's 24-year figure falls between those two positions.

Federal prosecutors (at least)25

Defence20

Court's minimum term24

Federal prosecutors (at least)

25 years

Defence

20 years

Court's minimum term

24 years

Data from the article text

If the ruling stands, Zschäpe could be released at the earliest at the age of 60. Both the defence and the federal prosecutor's office may file a complaint with the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) against the decision. Until that appeal route is used or closed, the order from Munich is not legally final.