Hells Angels sentenced for murder in Berlin
October 1, 2019
Eight members of Hells Angels' Berlin charter, including the group's leader Kadir P., were sentenced to life in prison by a Berlin court, German officials announced on Tuesday.
The charter leader was found guilty of putting a kill contract against Tahrir Ö, with whom he was in a long-running conflict. In early 2014, a group of 13 Hells Angels stormed a Berlin bookmaker's shop, with one of them opening fire and hitting Tahrir Ö. with six bullets.
The 26-year-old died at the scene.
Some of the participants wore masks, surveillance video footage from the building showed.
Read more: Leader of German Hells Angels faction shot dead
Biggest ever biker-related trial
The Berlin court sentenced the 35-year-old Kadir P. to life in prison for incitement to murder, and seven other members of the group received the same sentence for taking part in the attack. One other attacker was handed a shortened prison sentence of 12 years, after he cooperated with investigators.
Judge Thomas Gross described Kadir P. as "anti-social" and aggressive.
"Nothing would happen without him," he said.
Prosecutors also claimed one other defendant was involved in the murder, but failed to prove the link. He was sentenced for possessing an illegal weapon to one year and ten months in prison.
Tuesday's sentence brings an end to the biggest-ever trial involving biker gangs in Germany's history.
Police officers suspected of negligence
Separately, German authorities launched an investigation against three police employees for allegedly failing to prevent the murder. The officer are suspected of knowing about plans to kill Tahrir Ö. Months before the attack, and learning about the specific contract just five days before the kill, but failing to take steps to protect him. The investigation over the alleged "state misconduct" has not yet been completed.
The US biker organization Hells Angels first reached Germany in the 1970s. In recent years, police have repeatedly clashed with the members of the group, which authorities claim often operates as a cover for criminal activity. Earlier this year, a court in Leipzig sentenced four Hells Angels' members over murder, and another murder trial is underway in Cologne.
dj/msh (AFP, dpa)
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