Man on trial for knife attack at Berlin's Holocaust Memorial

Months after a knife attack at Berlin's Holocaust Memorial left a Spanish tourist with life-threatening injuries, the trial of a 19-year-old man on attempted murder and terrorism charges began in the German capital on Thursday.

The defendant, a Syrian refugee, was detained with blood-stained hands in the vicinity of the memorial following the February 21 attack.

He is believed to have travelled to the site from his home in the eastern state of Saxony in order to carry out an attack motivated by radical Islamism and anti-Semitism in the name of the Islamic State terrorist group.

The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office has accused the man of attempted murder, grievous bodily harm and attempted membership of a foreign terrorist organization.

On the first day of the trial at the Berlin Higher Regional Court, defence lawyer Daniel Sprafke said his client would initially remain silent.

The 19-year-old is accused of stabbing a Spanish tourist in the back at the site, which commemorates the 6 million Jews killed by Nazi Germany in the Holocaust.

The victim, who was 30 years old at the time of the incident, suffered life-threatening injuries and had to undergo emergency surgery.

The court has scheduled 12 trial dates, ending in late January 2026.