Explaining his move, Klaus-Juergen Schmid said that there is no law that requires having a crucifix in the courtroom in the first place. He also said he wanted to show the Afghan Muslim asylum seeker that his ruling on the case is not a reflection or a sign of conflict between Christians and Muslims.

“I did not think it would be proper to convict him under the cross – that was the issue,” said Schmid. Shortly after the case was made public, Schmid began receiving “angry emails” accusing him of removing a symbol of Germany’s “cultural and religious sovereignty.”

The judge said that he does not want to have the crucifix in the courtroom anymore. “After Bavarian Judicial Law was changed so that neither crosses nor headscarves should be worn by judges during trials, I do not believe it is right that religious symbols should hang in the courtroom,” he said.