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Aachen Justice Center

Photo: Oliver Berg / dpa

The street looked "post-apocalyptic", two people were in mortal danger, says the prosecutor. It was pure coincidence that nothing worse happened. Nine months after the devastating explosion in a fashion store in Eschweiler, North Rhine-Westphalia, with many injured and millions in damage, the trial against the two operators of the store began on Wednesday.

A 56-year-old man and his 22-year-old son are accused before the Aachen Regional Court. They are accused, among other things, of attempted 13 murders. They are said to have planned and triggered the explosion in order to collect money from the insurance company. The son had paid an instalment three days before the explosion. "While other liabilities were not serviced," the indictment says.

The 22-year-old is said to have distributed petrol and diesel in the store on March 30 and then set fire to one or two pieces of clothing. At 21:18 p.m., there was a massive explosion and a bang that could be heard for miles. The store's window was blown out onto the street. In the four-storey residential and commercial building, walls and parts of the ceiling collapsed, and a fire broke out. Four people, including a six-week-old baby, were seriously injured.

Father protests innocence

On the first day of the trial, father and son kept their distance. The younger man in the front row of the dock said through his lawyers that he wanted to defend himself in silence. His father, on the other hand, talked. He had nothing to do with the explosion, the man with German and Iraqi citizenship explained through an interpreter. "I am innocent."

His son has a problem with drugs, the 56-year-old testified. "He's a gambler." Because the landlord wanted it that way, he signed the lease for the shop. However, he did not have a key, but he did make bank transfers for his son and helped in the shop. "I was bored," said the father.

The shop in a side street of the pedestrian zone was a success, the man asserted several times. But he also said that there was once no electricity for three weeks until the bill was paid. After the explosion, suspicion quickly fell on the operators of the business, which, according to the indictment, was unprofitable. They were held in pre-trial detention shortly thereafter.

On the night of the fire, a family tried to escape from the upper floor with their six-week-old baby, but could not open the doors and was trapped in the stairwell. The baby suffered burns to his face and hands. Three other people were seriously injured by burns and were in hospital for three and a half months. One woman's fingers of her right hand had to be partially amputated.

In the trial, which will last until the beginning of January, more than 50 witnesses are to be heard. Among them are police officers, firefighters, neighbors and experts.

wit/dpa