German train hostage-taker jailed

Berlin's top criminal court on Thursday sent the convicted hostage-taker to a psychiatric clinic for four years after he demanded that Germany's head of state publicly condemn acts of Palestinian recognition by several EU nations.

Sweden last year led several EU nations - but not Germany - in unilaterally recognizing a future Palestinian state; part of a controversial series of moves after the region won partial recognition at the United Nations.

Passengers overwhelmed the assailant after he fired a starting pistol, trying to force the train's chief conductor to transmit a message saying that President Joachim Gauck, Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier would be calling a "pro-Israel" press conference.

Alerted by the train's crew, police squads arrested the 24-year-old when the Hamburg-bound train reached Nauen, just west of Berlin.

Parallels with Thalys?

The incident had some parallels with 21 August this year, when a suspected Islamist gunman from Morocco was disarmed by passengers on a high-speed Thalys train between Amsterdam and Paris.

Last week in Brussels, European rail operators and security experts discussed security on trains used by many millions of Europeans each day.

Hostage-taking main charge

Thursday's main conviction was for hostage-taking coupled with convictions for illegal possession of a weapon and coercion of the president, Berlin supreme court spokesman Tobias Kaehne told Deutsche Welle. The last charge is an unusual one to surface in German courts.

Paragraph 106 of Germany's criminal code specifies a jail term of up to five years for coercion of the federal president, federal and regional parliamentarians, and judges of Germany's federal or regional courts.

Because of this rarely used charge, prosecutors were required in June to transfer the case from Potsdam's regional court to the higher jurisdiction in Berlin.

Supreme court spokesman Kaehne said the man had admitted to taking people hostage during the trial.

The court on Thursday convicted him to four years jail to be spent in a psychiatric clinic on the grounds that he had a personality disorder and exhibited diminished accountability.

Within a week, lawyers can still lodge appeals, which, if granted, would result in the case being refered to Germany's top criminal court in Karlsruhe.

Money also sought

Public broadcaster in the Berlin area, RBB, reported in August that the local man had told the Potsdam court that he had Jewish "roots" but grew up in a Christian fundamentalist home, and regarded moves to recognized Palestine as "wrong."

It said the man had also demanded 500,000 euros ($560,000), but conceded that he never expected to receive it.

ipj/msh (dpa, AP)