German court gives man 10 years for fatal attack on train conductor

A German court on Thursday handed down a 10-year prison sentence to a 26-year-old man who fatally assaulted a train conductor during a ticket inspection in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate five months ago.

The court sitting in Zweibrücken found that the man had attacked the conductor after being found without a ticket, hitting the conductor so hard that he later died of a brain haemorrhage.

The assailant was found guilty of causing bodily harm resulting in death. The sentence is open to appeal.

The lawyer representing the victim’s family announced before the verdict that they would appeal both the conviction and the sentence. The conductor’s relatives, who did not attend the verdict and sentencing hearing, had sought a conviction for manslaughter or murder.

The case sparked a debate in Germany over how to improve safety on trains. National railway operator Deutsche Bahn announced plans to issue bodycams to conductors and onboard restaurant staff as part of efforts to improve security.

The assault in this case was recorded on cameras installed in the regional express train where the attack occurred.

The court heard that the defendant, a Greek national who lives in Luxembourg, did not have a ticket and did not wish to identify himself to the conductor. The assault began after the conductor asked him to leave the train.

The soundless video material shown to the court showed rapid and hard punches to the chin, chest and head of the conductor, Serkan Çalar, 36, who soon collapsed unconscious.

His assailant was arrested at the next stop in Homburg (Saar), and Çalar received medical treatment. He died two days later in hospital. The single father from Ludwigshafen leaves two underage sons.

His assailant admitted the assault to the court but denied that he intended to kill the conductor. He asked the conductor's relatives for forgiveness.

Their legal representative rejected his statement as "insincere," saying that the assailant had at least taken the possibility of Çalar's death into account.

The defence argued the case should be treated as a less serious form of causing bodily harm resulting in death and has asked for a sentence "at the lower end of the sentencing range."