Judicial Farce in Berlin as Court Lifts Warrant for Influencer Who Fled

Berlin's justice system has delivered another masterclass in unintended absurdity. On New Year's Eve 2024, Attalah Younes, a Palestinian social media influencer, aimed a firework rocket at a residential building in the capital. The projectile shattered the window of a married couple’s bedroom and exploded inside. To cap off the spectacle, Younes posted the stunt online, amassing millions of views before the footage was eventually taken down.

The couple escaped physical harm only because they happened to be sitting in an adjacent room at the exact moment of impact. Yet, when the case reached the Berlin District Court, judges concluded that it could not be proven the twenty-three-year-old had acted with intent to injure anyone. Dismissing charges of attempted arson and attempted dangerous bodily harm, the court handed down a remarkably soft conviction limited strictly to property damage.

That initial leniency had immediate practical consequences. With the serious charges tossed aside, the arrest warrant against Younes was lifted. Unsurprisingly, by mid-April, the influencer packed his bags and relocated to the Jordanian capital of Amman.

Now, the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe has stepped in to clean up the legal mess. Ruling on an appeal by prosecutors, Germany’s highest court of ordinary jurisdiction overturned the Berlin verdict, confirming that the lower court committed fundamental legal errors when it dismissed the charge of attempted arson. The case was sent back to Berlin for a complete retrial under a different criminal chamber.

Yet the correction comes far too late to mean much in practice. German criminal procedure generally forbids holding trials in absentia. With Younes comfortably established in Jordan, the upcoming retrial will almost certainly have to be provisionally suspended. The high court may have vindicated the prosecutors on paper, but the reality on the ground remains unchanged. The perpetrator walks free abroad, while the German legal process stands paralyzed by its own predictable sequence of missteps.

Written by Sandy van Dongen sandy.vandongen@alpineweekly.com