German girl jailed for IS attack in Hanover

The court in Celle gave Safia S the full six-year sentence demanded by prosecutors

A girl aged 16 has been jailed by a German court for six years for what is seen as the country's first attack by a sympathiser of jihadist group Islamic State (IS).

Safia S, who was 15 at the time, stabbed and seriously wounded a police officer at the central station in Hanover. Prosecutors described the attack as ordered and supervised by IS.

Most of the case was heard behind closed doors at the regional court in Celle

She was convicted of attempted murder and helping a terrorist organisation. Safia S, described as a German Moroccan, was also found guilty of grievous bodily harm. Her defence had called for her to be cleared of the other charges and given a lesser sentence.


A 20 year-old man, Mohamad Hasan K, was jailed for two and a half years on Thursday because he knew of the planned attack but failed to alert authorities.

Safia S stabbed the 34-year-old policeman on 26 February last year, weeks after flying to the Turkish city of Istanbul to join IS in Syria. Although her mother brought her back she kept in touch with the jihadist group over the internet.

CCTV footage showed her staring at two police officers. When they asked to see her identity card she lunged at one of them with a knife.

Under German privacy laws, defendants' surnames are not publicised. The case at Celle regional court was heard behind closed doors.

Police in Hanover are also investigating a suspected jihadist plot to target an international football friendly, four days after the 13 November attacks in Paris.