A court in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, began the trial on Tuesday for the death of 20-year-old Greek-born Philippos Tsanis, who was fatally injured in June after a violent assault while returning from his sister’s graduation party in Bad Oeynhausen.
According to Focus magazine, the charges filed by prosecutor Christoph Mackel are homicide and robbery against a person incapable of defending themselves.
Tsanis was punched and kicked in the head, resulting in severe brain damage, and he died two days later from his injuries.
The main accused is 18-year-old Syrian Muafak S., while two 19-year-old Germans, Nick R. and Ferdinand D., face charges of causing grievous bodily harm and theft.
In his reading of the indictment, the prosecutor explained that Tsanis and the three accused had an unprovoked confrontation in a park near the graduation event. Tsanis and a friend were leaving when they encountered the group by chance. Mackel detailed how Muafak S. intentionally struck Tsanis in the legs, causing him to fall, before delivering violent blows to his head, fully aware that the victim could die.
The indictment includes charges of robbery and theft, as the perpetrators stole a bag containing money, a few grams of a drug substance, and a bottle of perfume, which they shared. The prosecutor noted that one of the defendants even sprayed the perfume on his neck while Tsanis lay unconscious on the ground. According to Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, one of the co-defendants has implicated Muafak S. in his testimony.
Outside the courtroom, an angry crowd booed the accused, who were escorted by heavy police presence. The victim’s father, Dimitris Tsanis, was in the courtroom and angrily shouted “murderers.”
The violent death of Tsanis sparked a nationwide debate on the issue of deporting foreign criminals, reaching the Bundestag. Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz called the incident a sign of “uncontrolled immigration,” emphasizing that the perpetrators, who had immigrated to Germany, had been given opportunities to live freely but turned to violence.
As revealed by WDR, authorities had failed to share information about Muafak S.’s criminal record before the murder, which included repeated offences since 2020. Muafak S. arrived in Germany in 2016 at the age of 10 under family reunification, as his parents were already in the country. Authorities also lost track of him after he moved to Bad Oeynhausen in October 2023, with neither the police nor the immigration office being informed of his criminal background.
The Bielefeld district court has scheduled 19 days of hearings, expected to conclude in May 2025.