Dortmund Bus Bomber Pleads Guilty on Second Court Day But Denies Intent to Kill
The 28-year-old man accused of carrying out a bomb attack on Borussia Dortmund's team bus ahead of their Champions League clash with Monaco last April has pleaded guilty to the offense at the city's district court, but denies he attempted to kill.
The perpetrator, only known as Sergej W, was alleged to have caused an explosion next to the club's transport, which resulted in a broken bone in the wrist of BVB defender Marc Bartra and an ear injury to a police officer who was in close proximity.
As the trial entered its second day, the accused entered the court with his laptop, which inside contained a written statement, claiming that the attack was committed in order to profit from a significant drop in the Bundesliga outfit's share price.
"I did not want to injure any people, and I did not want to kill anyone", the 28-year-old stated, as quoted by ESPN.
"I only wanted to feign a severe attack. I only wanted Borussia Dortmund to crash out of the Champions League."
Sergej W has been charged with 28 counts of attempted murder, causing an explosion and two counts of serious bodily harm following the incident in Dortmund on April 11 2017.
According to the report, prosecutors labeled the 28-year-old, who is a German citizen of Russian birth, as a cold-blooded person, acting out of greed to profit from a drop in the share price of the only German football club listed on the stock market.
Judge Peter Windgatter was told by one of the accused's two lawyers, Carl W Heydenreich, that the attack had been planned since early 2017, and that the defendant had hoped to establish a "realistic scenario" of a terror attack, one in which would be attempted to lead back to Islamist extremists.
The Champions League tie was postponed by 24 hours and resulted in the quarter-final exit of Dortmund.
