German army officer on trial planning attack sentenced to 5.5 years

A German army officer accused of planning to attack one or more politicians while posing as a Syrian asylum seeker to try to pit blame on migrants was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison on Friday. The elaborate ploy, uncovered in 2017, shocked Germans and stirred a debate about the depth of right-wing radicalism in the country's military.

A German army officer accused of planning to attack one or more politicians while posing as a Syrian asylum seeker to try to pit the blame on migrants was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison on Friday.

The elaborate ploy, uncovered in 2017, shocked Germans and stirred a debate about the depth of right-wing radicalism in the country's military. Prosecutors said the man, identified as Franco A., posed under a false identity and planned an attack he hoped would be blamed on refugees and migrants.

They said Franco A. also stole ammunition from the German military, with former justice minister Heiko Maas or the former parliament's vice-president Claudia Roth seen as possible targets of an attack. Franco A. was arrested in Vienna in February 2017 while trying to retrieve a loaded pistol he had hidden in the airport toilets after an officers' ball, according to the investigations.

The defendant stood sporting a dark beard and ponytail in a Frankfurt court as the verdict was read out more than a year after the trial began.