23-year-old Syrian man confesses in court to planning an attack in Berlin
A 23-year-old Syrian man was arrested in Berlin in November 2025 on suspicion of terrorism. The police discovered several items in his apartment for the construction of an explosive device. The Syrian planned an attack in Berlin out of radical Islamist sentiments.
He has generally admitted the allegations before the capital’s regional court. He became radicalized via the Internet and was ultimately “determined” to commit an attack.
According to the indictment, the man is said to have been considering committing a terrorist attack since March 2025 at the latest, which would primarily target Jews living in Berlin and, in his view, “infidels.” He planned to first kill as many Jewish people and non-Muslims as possible with a knife and then carry out a suicide attack with an explosive belt.
The man said at the start of the trial that he came to Germany at the end of 2023 “to work and earn money.” But then his dreams and goals would have changed. He has become increasingly radicalized on platforms like Tiktok. In chats, he informed himself about martyrdom and looked at IS publications, among other things. “The devil was sitting in my head,” said the defendant: “I got my thoughts from ISIS.”
The trial is scheduled for four additional days of hearings until June 5.
