Verdict expected in German trial over courtroom stabbing of Egyptian woman

Verdict expected in German courtroom stabbing

DRESDEN, Germany — A German court is expected to deliver its verdict today in the case of a man charged with murder for the courtroom stabbing of a pregnant Egyptian woman.

Prosecutors are seeking a life prison sentence for defendant Alexander Wiens, a 28-year-old Russian-born German. The defense is asking for a manslaughter conviction, which carries a lesser sentence.

A verdict is due at a court session in Dresden on Wednesday afternoon.

Wiens admitted to stabbing Marwa al-Sherbini to death during at a July 1 court hearing. But he says his actions were not premeditated and that he had no xenophobic motivation.

The stabbing happened during a hearing over a complaint al-Sherbini filed against Wiens accusing him of insulting her with ethnic slurs.