The “La Belle” Trial: The Sentencing of a Terrorist Bomber Under the German Penal Code

Abstract

In June 2004, the Bundesgerichtshof (BGH – Federal Court of Justice) handed down a verdict in one of the longest trials involving terrorist criminal activities in German history. The so called “La Belle” case provided legal action resulting from the bombing of the discotheque “La Belle” in West Berlin in 1986, which, at the time, was attended mostly by American soldiers. The BGH had to review the ruling of the Berliner Landgericht (LG – District Court), where the trial started in November 1997. After 281 days of trial and 170 witnesses a guilty verdict was handed down by the Berliner LG, which found the defendants guilty of murder and of aiding and abetting murder in the deaths at the “La Belle.” Four defendants were sentenced to prison terms ranging between 12 and 14 years. In its final ruling on the case, the BGH, in principal, affirmed the verdict of the lower court by overruling most of the appellate claims of the prosecution, the defendants and the joint plaintiffs.