Germany: Ex-soldier sentenced after stockpiling weapons
March 12, 2021
A regional court in the eastern German city of Leipzig sentenced a former elite commando to two years on a suspended sentence on Friday.
Phillip S. was convicted of having violated weapon and explosive control laws. Investigators discovered large stockpiles of weapons and munitions buried in his garden in the small town of Collm in Saxony in May last year.
They also found texts with far-right content, but a subsequent investigation was unable to prove that he was a right-wing extremist.
The 46-year-old former Sergeant Major from the second Elite Commando Unit (KSK) company had amassed an arsenal of dangerous weapons and munitions, stored in boxes, buckets and sacks.
The prosecution had called for two and a half years detention, while the defense had argued for 10 months in prison.
What did the stockpile consist of?
- Two kilograms (4.4 pounds) of professional explosives
- Several thousand pieces of rifle and pistol ammunition
- An AK47 assault rifle
- A crossbow
- A smoke grenade
- Other firearms and firearm parts
Extremism scandals shake Germany's special forces
Authorities raided his property in May and brought the man in while investigations were carried out. He was released in November pending his upcoming trial.
The former commando admitted to having set up a weapons depot at the beginning of the trial in January. He argued in court that the stockpile was necessary for his training activities with soldiers, as the German military frequently experiences supply shortages.
The KSK elite unit was shaken by a series of revelations about right-wing extremism among its ranks last year.
German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, from the ruling center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), set in motion a foundational reform of the KSK. She also disbanded the 2nd company, of which Phillip S. had been a member, in June.
KSK Brigadier General Markus Kreitmayr made headlines last year after calling for a weapons and munitions amnesty — soldiers were asked to bring back anything they had made off with without the threat of punishment.
ab/rs (dpa, AFP)