German court convicts suspected of killing Ukrainian sportsmen
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In Germany, the trial of immigrant children, aged 14 to 16, who murdered two young Ukrainian basketball players in cold blood, has ended. All were sentenced to long prison terms.
The German portal BR.DE reported on the verdict against the defendants.
On February 10, 2024, the convicts killed the players of the Ukrainian youth national team, 17-year-old Volodymyr Yermakov and 18-year-old Artem Kozachenko.
Court verdict against the suspects
The Essen Regional Court found that four suspects used knives and batons to kill two Ukrainian basketball players.
Two of the suspects received 10-year prison sentences, while the other two were sentenced to 8.5 years.
Initially, police considered xenophobia against Ukrainians as a motive, but the investigation revealed it was violence for violence's sake. On the day of the murder, the attackers could have targeted people of any nationality instead of Yermakov and Kozachenko.
According to Alisa Scallion, the lawyer representing the parents of the Ukrainian basketball players, the suspects apologized for their actions.
"However, it's hard for the parents to cope with this. Their children will never return," the attorney stated.
Interestingly, the suspects' lawyers disagree with the court's ruling, considering it too harsh. They plan to appeal the decision.
Details of the murder of Ukrainians revealed
On February 10, Yermakov and Kozachenko visited a shopping center in Oberhausen after training to buy sports shoes for a game scheduled for the next day.
Around 8:00 PM, the players headed home. During their bus ride to the train station, they were provoked by a 15-year-old ethnic Turk from Gelsenkirchen, who was accompanied by three friends.
When the Ukrainians exited the bus to catch a train to Düsseldorf, the troublemakers followed them, surrounded them, and began attacking them with batons and knives. Investigations revealed that the Turkish-born youth and his friends from the Middle East had already planned to assault someone before encountering the Ukrainians.
Yermakov died of his injuries in the hospital on the same day, and Kozachenko's death was pronounced ten days later.
Notably, all four perpetrators had been registered with the police before February 10 as juvenile offenders involved in cases of violence, drug-related crimes, and robberies.
The main instigator had been convicted of aggravated robbery causing serious bodily harm at the time of the attack. However, as of February 10, his detention sentence had not yet come into legal effect.
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