Germany: Life sentence upheld for man who killed cousin at Newroz celebration
A German court's life sentence for a man who stabbed his cousin to death at a Newroz celebration in Parsberg has become final. Judges ruled the killing was rooted in a 20-year-old feud and driven by revenge and "family honor."
RastinewsA German court's life sentence for a man convicted of stabbing his cousin to death at a Newroz celebration in Parsberg has become final. Judges ruled the killing, rooted in a family feud dating back 20 years, was motivated by "revenge" and a bid to restore "family honor."
The court proceedings over the killing, which took place during a Newroz celebration in the Bavarian town of Parsberg on March 23, 2025, have now concluded.
The Nuremberg-Fürth Regional Court sentenced the defendant to life in prison on February 12, 2026, for killing his cousin. Germany's Federal Court of Justice rejected the defendant's appeal, making the life sentence final.
Attacked cousin in Newroz crowd
According to court records, the killing took place at a Newroz celebration attended by roughly 1,000 people.
The defendant spotted his 39-year-old cousin in the crowd, approached him from behind and stabbed him. The victim suffered a fatal wound to the heart and died at the scene.
The roots of the killing, it emerged, stretched back some 20 years to Syria.
The defendant's sister had been married to the victim; she died in Syria in 2005. The defendant held his cousin responsible for her death.
The court found that the defendant killed his cousin years later to avenge his sister's death and, in his own understanding, to restore the family's honor.
Court cites "base motives"
The Nuremberg-Fürth Regional Court classified the attack as murder, finding the defendant had exploited the victim's defenselessness and acted for "base motives."
The court also found the defendant's guilt to be of "particular severity" — a finding that makes it harder for him to seek parole after 15 years, an option normally available to those serving life sentences in Germany.
The Federal Court of Justice's Sixth Criminal Senate reviewed the case and found no legal error in the lower court's ruling, rejecting the appeal.
Perpetrator and victim reported to be from Rojava
According to information Rudaw obtained from the court, both the defendant and his slain cousin were born in Rojava.
One of the organizers of the 2025 Newroz celebration in Parsberg told Rudaw that, according to information circulating locally, the two cousins were from Kobane, in Rojava.
The organizer, who asked not to be named, said the Parsberg municipality did not permit a Newroz celebration in the city in 2026, citing security concerns.
The municipality's public records contain no direct statement on the matter, however, so the link between the murder and the denial of permission for this year's Newroz celebration rests, for now, solely on the organizer's account.