A “New German” from Afghanistan was acquitted of manslaughter in a courtroom in the German city of Münster because the judges ruled he had acted in self-defense. Here’s a snip from the report in The Daily Mail (hat tip Reader from Chicago):

What the Mail doesn’t mention is that the defendant’s act of “self-defense” included stabbing his victim six times in the heart.

The victim and his entire family came to Germany from Portugal. In the video below from Bild, the dead boy’s mother is interviewed during and after her courtroom ordeal.

Many thanks to MissPiggy for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Video transcript:

00:05 Coming here was difficult. More difficult than his funeral.

00:13 Juvenile criminal district court Münster

00:18 Maria M. must look the alleged murderer of her son in the eyes.

00:26 The Afghan refugee Sayed M. (18) reportedly killed José M. (20) with a knife.

00:33 The student José M. had been involved in refugee aid, wanted to help.

00:37 According to the indictment, Sayed, who came to Germany in 2015, is said to have stalked a girl.

00:43 The victim wanted Sayed M. to stop harassing the girl and paid for it with his life.

00:57 Not good. I had to get up early and couldn’t sleep. I’m scared, too. Coming here was difficult.

01:07 Very difficult. I must admit, it was worse than when I buried him.

01:15 I also try to prepare to see him, when he comes in. Then the defence lawyer came, and suddenly

01:23 he comes in and then… the rage hit me. To see such a little man there but who acts so big.

01:33 He acted so awkward, and had this insolence about him. Looking everyone in the eye.

01:40 And then his eyes fastened on me. He had a look without emotion, without remorse. Without…

01:47 and he looked down when something was said that he supposedly hadn’t — couldn’t have — done.

01:53 Nothing. There was no movement. And then he looked over at the bench where the children

01:59 were sitting and then I just asked myself: “What is he thinking? what is he thinking now?”

02:16 So I can’t comprehend how the judge can simply say to us that we should consider his childhood.

02:22 Did anyone ask how ours was? Did anyone ask me how my childhood was?

02:26 Or that of MY children? Not even a “How are you?” So he had a difficult childhood; we did too!

02:30 I came to Germany in 2004 with my husband and my son. All we had was four suitcases.

02:34 Four suitcases. Everything we have now, a house, we have a small business — we worked for.

02:40 No one gave us anything. Nothing. We worked hard from morning till night.

02:48 My son was killed. Stabbed in the heart six times, just like it says. My son was taken from me.

02:57 By just the way he looked at us. He wanted it and he’ll do it again. He’s only 18.

03:03 What’s he going to get, four to five years maybe? He will certainly not get any more. The poor boy.

03:08 We have to live with that. Every night I sit there thinking, “Where is he?” He is not there.

03:15 He took my son away from me because he wanted to protect someone? He just wanted

03:19 to help a girl, he’s always like that. Was always like that. He’s not anymore, but he was like that.

03:25 What doesn’t the judge say anything about that? Why? Why?

03:31 He’s still getting a sentence reduction? Isn’t it enough that he’s a refugee, and already got one?

03:36 Even more? What reduction do we get? None. What reduction? Do my daughters get one too?

03:42 They are eleven and thirteen. None. None.

04:03 I was expecting that he would at least simply try to say, “I’m sorry, I did not want it,

04:07 of course I had a knife because maybe, out of fear, but I did not want to.”

04:13 I’m Catholic, really Catholic. I believe in God and that I’ll see him again, but I can’t forgive this.

04:30 At his funeral at the Marien Church it was so full. All the way in the back, people were standing.

04:35 Unbelievable how many people were there. And that his friends from school, from his university

04:41 and even his high school are there. Yes, even though that was two to three years ago. And they are

04:48 still there for him. That they even come. That they stand by us. Friends we’ve known for

04:53 a long time and those that I have just met. They stand with and tell us, we are there. We can’t