The Bremen Regional Court has sentenced a 35-year-old man to eight and a half years in prison for planning a terrorist attack in Bremerhaven. His 20-year-old nephew was acquitted but is to be placed in a psychiatric facility.
Bremen, June 8, 2026
The Bremen Regional Court on Monday sentenced a 35-year-old German man to eight and a half years in prison for planning an Islamistically motivated terrorist attack in Bremerhaven, while his 20-year-old nephew was acquitted and placed in a psychiatric facility.
The judges charge the defendant with conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to cause an explosion, and financing of terrorism. The verdict is not yet final.
As reported by the magazine "buten un binnen," the nephew admitted to corresponding plans during the course of the trial. According to the indictment, one of the men wanted to kill as many people as possible with a self-made explosive vest. They intended, according to the charges, to kill as many people as possible with firearms.
The public prosecutor's office speaks of plans for a "jihadistically motivated attack" on a hospital in Bremerhaven that was not specified in more detail. The public prosecutor's office accuses the defendants, among other things, of conspiracy to commit murder and the preparation of a serious act of violence endangering the state.
The accused men are said to have decided on the act in the summer of 2025. The court was convinced that the two Germans had concretized their plans the previous summer. According to the court, the accused are an uncle and a nephew.
As possible targets, they had set their sights on a clinic, a major public event, or a synagogue in Bremerhaven. The men wanted to build the explosive vest at the mother of the 35-year-old defendant's home, according to the court in its reasoning for the verdict.
The woman ordered three substances for a test in her kitchen. Three substances were ordered, but "further relevant substances" were still missing, according to the Regional Court. Because the money for the components was insufficient and the authorities stepped in, the explosives were never built, according to the court.
The plan provided for the 20-year-old to detonate the self-made explosive vest when police forces arrived. They came across chats between the men by chance in the course of other investigations and arrested them. The two suspects were arrested last September in Bremerhaven and have been in pre-trial detention since then.
The younger defendant made a confession during the trial. His uncle has, according to the report, not yet commented on the charges. His psychologically ill accomplice and nephew has only limited capacity to control his actions, the court ruled.
They faced up to 15 years in prison. The verdict against the 35-year-old, at eight and a half years, falls below this maximum sentence. The Bremen Regional Court has sentenced a 35-year-old man to eight and a half years in prison for a planned terrorist attack.
The acquittal of the 20-year-old co-defendant came because the court, due to his mental illness, granted him only limited capacity to control his actions. In place of a prison sentence, the court ordered his placement in a psychiatric facility.
The verdict is not yet final, so both sides can file an appeal within the statutory deadlines. The security authorities had assessed the case as evidence that Islamist attack planning in Germany continues to represent a serious threat.
The trial had raised the question of how radicalized the two German nationals were and what networks they might have had access to. Investigators also examined, according to "buten un binnen," whether there were contacts to Islamist groups abroad.
The defense had raised doubts about the 35-year-old's criminal responsibility but was unsuccessful. The court found that the conditions for diminished criminal responsibility were not met in the case of the older defendant.
The verdict concludes proceedings that had occupied the security situation in Bremen and Bremerhaven for months. The city of Bremerhaven had increased its security precautions at hospitals and major events after the plans became known.
