(ANSA-AFP) - BERLIN, 05 AGO - A German neo-Nazi on trial over
the murder of pro-refugee politician Walter Luebcke admitted
Wednesday to the killing that has shocked the nation and
highlighted the growing threat of right-wing extremism. "I fired
the shot," Stephan Ernst, 46, told the court of the killing in a
statement read out by his defence. Federal prosecutors have said
Ernst was motivated by "racism and xenophobia" when he allegedly
shot Luebcke in the head on June 1, 2019. Luebcke's killing is
believed to be Germany's first far-right political assassination
since World War II. Apologising to the victim's family, Ernst
said he had carried out a "cowardly and cruel" act. He insisted
that he did not act alone but along with co-defendant Markus
Hartmann, who stands accused of helping him train with firearms
-- including the murder weapon. "I know that what I and Hartmann
did to you will always be inexcusable. What we did was wrong,"
he told the family in the statement. "No one should die because
he has another view," said Ernst, adding that he had been
"misled by wrong ideas". (ANSA-AFP).
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