A Muslim teenager who brutally stabbed an Orthodox Jewish man 17 times in Zurich in an antisemitic terror attack may avoid prison, despite being convicted of attempted murder.
The attacker, who was 15 at the time of the assault and is now 17, was sentenced Tuesday to one year in prison, Swiss media reported. But the custodial sentence was suspended while authorities examine whether he can instead be placed in a treatment facility for therapy and rehabilitation.
In the summary of the verdict, the judge wrote: “Killing Jews simply because they are Jews is an unconscionable act.” The court convicted the defendant of attempted murder but acquitted him of a separate charge of repeatedly making threats.
According to the indictment, the teenager underwent a rapid process of radicalization after Hamas’ October 7, 2023, massacre in Israel. By January 2024, he was searching online for information about ISIS, bombmaking and ways to carry out attacks. He also corresponded with another person who held similar extremist views about how to make explosives.
After deciding that building an explosive device was too complicated, he chose to carry out a stabbing attack against Jews. A day before the assault, he bought a butcher’s knife at a shopping center in Zurich and checked social media to find out when Jews gathered for prayer at a synagogue. According to the indictment, his goal was to “kill as many Jews as possible.”
Image of the teenage attacker, blurred because of his age
On the day of the attack, the defendant arrived at the synagogue while livestreaming. A technical malfunction meant the incident was recorded only in audio and not on video. In the recording, he can be heard complaining that the synagogue door was locked and saying he would wait until someone came out. Shortly afterward, he is heard saying: “Now I have one.”
The recording then captures sounds of running, the attack, shouts of “Allahu Akbar” and the arrival of emergency responders.
According to the indictment, the attacker approached a 50-year-old Orthodox Jewish man from behind and stabbed him repeatedly. He first aimed at the victim’s neck and head, and later tried to slit his throat. The victim was stabbed 17 times.
Police guard the synagogue in Zurich, Switzerland
(Photo: Arnd Wiegmann / AFP)
The wounded man managed to flee several meters into the street, but the attacker chased him and continued stabbing him, refusing to let go. The assault ended only when passersby overpowered the attacker on the hood of a car stopped at a red light.
The victim was evacuated to a hospital in serious condition with multiple lung injuries and underwent emergency surgery that saved his life.
The defendant’s lawyer had asked the court to convict him of attempted manslaughter rather than attempted murder. He also argued that his client should be acquitted of the allegation that he intended to kill additional people. The defense requested a six-month prison sentence that would not have to be served, along with personal supervision and outpatient treatment.
The case has drawn renewed attention to the wave of antisemitic violence and incitement that Jewish communities in Europe have faced since October 7, and to the question of whether Western legal systems are responding forcefully enough when Jews are targeted because they are Jews.