Far-right terrorist takes prison guards hostage in Germany

Berlin, The Gulf Observer: A convicted far-right murderer temporarily took two prison guards hostage in a prison in eastern Germany before he was overwhelmed by other guards, German news agency dpa reported Tuesday.

The hostage taker, who was convicted to life in prison for his fatal attack on a synagogue in the eastern German city of Halle in 2019, took two guards hostage at the Berg prison near the city of Magdeburg in eastern Germany on Monday night.

After about one hour, others guards managed to free their colleagues and overwhelmed the attacker, 30-year-old Stephan Balliet, who was injured during the incident. The two hostages were not injured.

No further details about the hostage taking were released Tuesday morning, dpa reported.

Balliet attacked the synagogue in Halle on Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day, in 2019. He was armed with multiple firearms and explosives. When he didn’t succeed in entering the building, he killed a passer-by and a man inside a nearby kebab store.

The attack, one of the most violent and overt anti-Semitic acts in postwar German history, caused shockwaves across the country.

He was sentenced to life in prison in 2020.