A German left-wing student convicted of attacks on far-right supporters will be released from jail after the remainder of her five-year sentence was suspended by Germany's highest court.
The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) rejected an appeal by federal prosecutors against the suspension of the remainder of the sentence, upholding a ruling by a lower court in Dresden, according to a BGH decision released on Wednesday.
The woman, only named as Lina E under German privacy laws, was sentenced to five years and three months in prison in May 2023 after being found guilty by the higher regional court in the eastern city of Dresden of forming a criminal association and serious assault.
The guilty verdict led to fury among left-wing activists and riots in several cities across Germany, most notably in Leipzig.
Lina E and her accomplices were accused of carrying out several attacks against suspected members of far-right groups in the eastern states of Saxony and Thuringia between 2018 and 2020.
Thirteen people were injured in total, with two suffering potentially life-threatening injuries.
In its decision to allow Lina E to serve the remainder of her sentence on probation, the BGH cited a report by a forensic psychologist that gave her “a favourable prognosis” for successfully reintegrating into society, as she had "credibly renounced her former propensity for violence," showed good conduct in prison and has "viable" plans for the future, including continuing her studies.
The young woman, who was 28 at the time of her conviction, has served two-thirds of her sentence.
The Dresden court decided to suspend the remainder of the sentence on probation in March, a decision that is now final following the BGH ruling.
The sentence was originally set to end on December 21, 2027.
