À propos de ce lieu
The Bürgermeister-Müller-Park sits in the long shadow of the Hauptbahnhof, Europe's largest railway terminus by floor space, a monument to commerce and movement. But this small stretch of greenery carries a weight far beyond its size. On the night of 23 October 2010, Kamal Kilade, a nineteen-year-old Iraqi man living in Leipzig, was attacked here by two neo-Nazis who cornered him with pepper spray and blows before stabbing him in the abdomen. He died. Police and prosecutors initially found no racist motive, despite the main attacker carrying a swastika tattoo, and filed charges of manslaughter. It took sustained public pressure to bring the full force of the law to bear: in 2011 the Landgericht Leipzig convicted the attacker of murder from base motives and sentenced him to thirteen years plus preventive detention, with the court stating bluntly that he had not seen Kamal as a human being but as a foreigner whose life was worthless. A memorial stone in this park bears Kamal's name. It was badly damaged by vandals in 2016 and again in 2017, and restored both times through community donations.
À retenir
- 19 years old — The age of Kamal Kilade when he was murdered in this park during the night of 23 October 2010.
- 13 years — The prison sentence imposed on the main attacker, convicted of murder from base motives at the Landgericht Leipzig in 2011, plus preventive detention.
- 2012 year — Germany's Federal Court of Justice confirmed the murder verdict on appeal, settling any legal doubt about whether the killing was racially motivated.