Attack in Munich: Farhad N. is said to have lied in his asylum application

SZ.de Attack in Munich: Farhad N. is said to have lied in his asylum application René Hofmann and Christoph Koopmann • 46 million • 5 minutes reading time Sometimes in fashionable clothing, sometimes in a bodybuilder pose: This is how Farhad N. presented himself on Instagram and Tiktok. The 24-year-old who rushed into a Verdi demonstration came to Germany from Afghanistan in 2016. His asylum application was rejected. A court ruling explains why. And it is becoming clearer why he was allowed to stay in Germany anyway. Farhad N. is said to have lied in his asylum application Eight years and three months lie between the two days that were to change Farhad N.'s life decisively. And the lives of dozens of others. He entered Germany on December 3, 2016, when he said he was just 15 years old. He came alone, without his parents. Eight years and three months later, on February 13, 2025, he drove into a demonstration by the service workers' union Verdi in Munich from behind, injuring at least 39 people. Two of them were still in critical condition the day after the attack. Farhad N. was arrested. The charge: multiple attempted murder. The young man, who appeared on Instagram and Tiktok in fashionable clothing and showed off his body, which had been toned by bodybuilding, is said to have acted out of an Islamist motivation. On Friday evening, the Federal Prosecutor General responsible for terrorism cases took over the case. In the concerned statements of the Chancellor, the Prime Minister, and almost all politicians who commented on the attack in the hours that followed, it was clear: Yet another young man from Afghanistan committing an unbelievable act of violence. Yet another rejected asylum seeker. The question that, just a week before the federal election, is at least subliminally becoming the topic of the already fiery migration debate: Why was Farhad N. still in Germany? A ruling by the Munich Administrative Court, which the Süddeutsche Zeitung has obtained, provides insights into the Afghan's asylum procedure. File number M 25 K 17.48375, issued on October 9, 2020. It fills 17 pages, explaining how Farhad N. came to Germany - and that he probably lied about the story he wanted to use to justify why he was entitled to asylum here. He submitted his asylum application on February 14, 2017, almost exactly nine years to the day before he drove his cream-colored Mini Cooper into the crowd in Munich. He was interviewed twice by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf). He told the staff a story that was supposed to be his. He also apparently presented medical certificates stating that he had post-traumatic stress disorder, a sleep disorder, and flashbacks. He said that his impulse control was impaired and his IQ was "below average." Farhad N. was born in Kabul in 2001 and grew up in a war-torn country. N. is an Afghan Tajik and Sunni. He went to school in Afghanistan until the seventh grade. After that he worked as a tiler. So much for the things that the BAMF apparently believed. What he did not believe were the circumstances of his escape, which apparently took him first to Iran, then across the Mediterranean to Italy, and from there to Germany. His father, Farhad N. said at the time, had a shop in Afghanistan. But a criminal gang wanted to get rid of the competition - and killed his father. The perpetrators were convicted and ended up in prison. After their release, the family filed a complaint again. The perpetrators then threatened the family and threw stones at the property. Cars stopped in front of his school and followed him, says Farhad N. His mother told him he was no longer allowed to go to school or leave the house. And he decided to flee. This went on for two years. Then he had enough money to start the journey. But the employees of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf) find this implausible. On September 26, 2017, they rejected his asylum application. Farhad N. is appealing against the decision. This lawsuit will be heard in October 2020 before the Munich Administrative Court. The court does not believe the young man's story either. His descriptions: "lacking in detail and unrealistic," as the verdict states. The court finds it illogical that Farhad N. cannot name his alleged persecutors, even though there have been verdicts that he was allegedly persecuted for two years without anything happening to him. And that he did not leave the house? He himself said that he worked as a tiler. The administrative court is convinced that he made up the story. The rejection of the asylum application was lawful. Farhad N. cannot claim subsidiary protection status either.