GERMANY: Attempted homicide against three Jehovah’s Witnesses – Suicide of the Afghan aggressor in cell!
By Willy Fautré, director of Human Rights Without Frontiers
HRWF (13.03.2026) – On 23 February, a 35-year-old man attacked a group of Jehovah’s Witnesses at Würzburg Central Station in Bavaria. Passersby overpowered the man, who was remanded in custody. One week later, officers found him dead in his cell!
Suspect underwent psychiatric treatment on multiple occasions
The Afghan had been in Germany since 2023 and lived in the district until 2025. He then moved to an asylum seekers’ accommodation facility in Würzburg.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, he had undergone psychiatric treatment on several occasions – including at the Center for Mental Health in Würzburg and several times at the Lohr district hospital in the Main-Spessart district. In October 2025, he destroyed several glass panes in an asylum seekers’ accommodation in Würzburg. In an earlier case, he threatened to take his own life and “take others with him.”
Bavarian Ministry of Justice under pressure
Since the incident, many questions have been raised in the media: Could the death in the cell have been prevented? How well does the prison system recognise the risk of suicide? What is the general situation regarding the care of mentally ill people in Lower Franconia? Pressed by the media, the Bavarian Ministry of Justice had to issue a detailed statement on procedures and protective measures.
First of all, there is no exact deadline for the medical examination after admission, but it must be carried out ‘as soon as possible’, emphasised a spokesperson for the Bavarian Ministry of Justice, referring to the Prison Act. When prisoners are admitted, the examination focuses ‘particularly on identifying suicide risk’. Any staff member who sees signs of danger is obliged to report this immediately.
If a prisoner is assessed as being at risk, psychological or psychiatric services provided by specialist services and external experts are available.
Single cells, shared cells, video surveillance
According to the ministry, whether someone is housed alone or with others depends on their personality, type of imprisonment, alleged offence, structural conditions and capacity. Around two-thirds of prison places in Bavaria are single cells. Normal cells are equipped with a bed, cupboard, shelf, chair, television and sanitary facilities. Clothing, bed linen and towels are provided by the institution.
General video surveillance of all prison cells is ‘already inadmissible for legal reasons’. Technical means such as cameras may only be used as part of special security measures, for example in cases of acute risk of self-harm.
No certified risk of suicide despite history!
According to the Würzburg public prosecutor’s office, an investigation is currently underway to determine whether there were any breaches of duty in the Würzburg prison with regard to the treatment of the man. After his arrest, the man was remanded in custody.
According to the prison, there were no indications of a risk of suicide upon his arrival. He was initially housed in a common room, according to the prison. Because he allegedly provoked fellow prisoners, he was transferred to a video-monitored detention room in the psychiatric ward on the same day.
The prison psychiatrist examined the man two days after the attempted homicide and also saw no signs of suicide risk. After a second medical assessment, he was transferred to a single cell on 26 February – again without any acute risk of suicide being identified!
Criticism of major gaps in care for mentally ill patients
For Prof. Dominikus Bönsch, director of the Lohr District Hospital, the Würzburg case fits a pattern: ‘History repeats itself,’ he says, referring to the fatal knife attacks at Barbarossaplatz in Würzburg and in a park in Aschaffenburg. In recent years, the alleged attacker from Würzburg Central Station had also been admitted to psychiatric clinics on several occasions, including the Lohr District Hospital and in Würzburg. These admissions were based on court orders.
According to Bönsch’s assessment, it is not unusual for people who are initially dangerous to others to later commit suicide. ‘We always have to keep a close eye on such patients,’ says the clinic director.
The German media largely covered the incident, such as Berliner Zeitung, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and BR24.
Seven Jehovah’s Witnesses killed in a shooting in 2023: the killer committed suicide!
In March 2023, seven people, including an unborn baby, were killed in a shooting at a Jehovah’s Witness meeting hall in the German city of Hamburg. The attack took place shortly after worshippers finished their service. The attacker, Filipp Fusz, was a German citizen from Bavaria who had been in contact with the community years before.
When police arrived and entered the building, they found the shooter dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on an upper floor.
Because the perpetrator committed suicide at the scene, there was no suspect left alive to arrest or put on trial. In criminal law, prosecution ends if the suspect dies.
Although there was no prosecution, the case did spark debate because authorities had received an anonymous warning months earlier that he might be psychologically unstable and hostile toward Jehovah’s Witnesses. Police visited him but found no legal grounds to revoke his gun license or confiscate his weapon at the time.
The most widely accepted explanation is that the attacker had developed deep resentment toward the community, possibly combined with personal and psychological problems.
