An administrative court in the state of Hesse has ruled that the man found guilty of Tugce Albayrak's deadly assault in 2014 can be deported to his native Serbia. Albayrak's death caused shock and horror across Germany.
The court ruled that M. can be immediately deported. The decision would lie with the city and district court in Wiesbaden, where he is currently detained, on whether he will see out the rest of his three-year sentence or be deported sooner, the judge said.
Sanel M. was convicted in 2015 for causing grievous bodily harm with fatal consequences after he hit Albayrak, aged 22, in a McDonald's parking lot in Offenbach. Albayrak came to the defense of two teenage girls being harassed by M., after which he struck her.
The blow caused her to fall and hit her head on the asphalt. This impact is thought to have caused her eventually-fatal brain hemorrhage. M. had just turned 18 when the incident occurred. He avoided a longer sentence after the judge ruled that he never intended to kill Albayrak.
Quadriga - Brave Tugce: The Price of Civil Courage?
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The immigration authority in Wiesbaden had ordered his deportation last year, adding M. should be expelled from Germany for eight years. M. and his defense swiftly appealed the order. However, the judge on Tuesday declared that the Serbian national would continue to pose a public threat on his release, based on his aggressive and violent tendencies while in detention.
M. is single, without children and, according to the judge, with little to no prospect of finding work, offering little reason for him to remain in Germany. He would therefore be able to integrate just as well in Serbia as he would in Germany, the judge added.
A nation in mourning
Albayrak lingered in a coma for two weeks after she was hit by M and died after her parents took her off life-support on her 23rd birthday.
The case led to an outpouring of grief across Germany, with people holding candlelight vigils and rallies outside her hospital.
Thousands also turned up at Albayrak's funeral to honor and remember her. German President Joachim Gauck sent a letter to Albayrak's family expressing his condolences: "Out whole country is mourning with you."
Politicians in Turkey, Albayrak's country of origin, also mourned her death, with then-Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc praising her "great heroism" and "place in the hearts of the German public."
dm/jm (dpa, AFP, epd)
Mourning a hero
Twenty-three-year-old student Tugce Albayrak, who died after being punched when she came to the aid of two threatened girls at a fast food restaurant, has been laid to rest. Her death sparked an outpouring of sympathy.
Image: picture alliance/AA/Kaman
Moving moments of farewell
Pallbearers carried the dark brown coffin with 23-year-old Tugce Albayrak to the mosque in the town of Wächtersbach on Wednesday. She was later buried at a private ceremony in the small German town where she was born.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Boris Roessler
Shared sadness
Some 1,500 people took part in a memorial to Tugce. Most of them did not personally know the young woman but wanted to show their respect for her and her actions. Tugce died after protecting two girls from a group of men harassing them.
Image: Getty Images/T. Lohnes
Flowers and tears
Many of the guests at the memorial, which included the state of Hesse's premier and the Turkish ambassador to Germany, brought wreaths as a sign of admiration for Tugce's courageous action.
Image: Reuters//R. Orlowski
A private burial
Tugce was born in the town of Bad Soden-Salmünster. It's also where she was buried in a private ceremony on Wednesday.
Image: Getty Images/R. Orlowski
Courage that inspired the world
Tugce's decision to help two girls turned her into the victim. Italian daily La Stampa called her the "Angel of McDonald's." Turkish media thanked Tugce on their pages, writing "We love you" and commenting on the outpouring of sympathy for Tugce from Germans.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Roessler
She died because she wanted to help
On Saturday morning, police confirmed the death of the young woman. The people who who had led a her vigil in front of the Offenbach were stunned by grief. Tugce died on her 23rd birthday. She had to pay with her life because she wanted to help others.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Roessler
Moving candlelight vigil
Around 1,500 mourners gathered in silence in front of the hospital where the young Turkish-born woman died. They laid down flowers and lit candles.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Roessler
Life support switched off
According to Offenbach police, the student's life-support machine was turned off on Friday night. Tugce's parents, her mother shown here at the window, made the decision after doctors pronounced the young woman as brain dead.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Roessler
Deeply affected
German President Joachim Gauck and the Hessian state government sent their condolences to Tugce's family. "It is horrible to lose a daughter who had her whole life ahead of her," said Minister Volker Bouffier (CDU) and his deputy, Economy Minister Tarek Al-Wazir (Green) .
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Gambarini
Quarrel at a fast food restaurant
Two weeks ago, the teaching student at the University of Giessen in western Germany was punched by a young man in front of a fast food restaurant and fell to the ground. As a result, she fell into a coma from which she never awoke. Tugce had been trying to help two threatened girls.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Roessler
Perpetrator remains silent
The crime was filmed by a CCTV camera. According to the prosecution, in the first interrogation, the alleged perpetrator admitted to the blow. Since then, he has remained silent in custody and is now being investigated for bodily harm resulting in death. The two girls who Tugce tried to protect are still being sought as witnesses.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Great sympathy and solidarity
People who gathered in Offenbach in front of the Sana Clinic held up placards bearing the words "Today we are all Tugce."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Roessler
Calls for the German Order of Merit
Thousands have turned to social media to express their grief and disbelief. The Facebook page "Tugce zeigte Zivilcourage, zeigen wir ihr unseren Respekt" meaning "Tugce showed courage, we show her our respect" has received more than 125,000 "likes." On Saturday morning an Internet petition demanding Germany's Order of Merit to be awarded to Tugce posthumously, had more than 50,000 signatures.
