The trial of the man accused of stabbing Marwa El-Sherbini in a German courtroom opens amid tight security, reports Doaa El-Bey The trial of the man who killed Egyptian pharmacist Marwa El-Sherbini began in the same courthouse in Dresden, East Germany, where she was stabbed to death four months ago. The trial opened amid tight security, with 200 police said to be guarding the court following media reports of Internet death threats to the defendant, Alex Wiens, who sat behind bullet proof glass. Anyone attending the hearing was subjected to strict security screening. El-Sherbini's murder aroused anger throughout the Islamic world, with Berlin being accused of not taking hate crimes against Muslims seriously. Wiens first encountered El-Sherbini in a playground, to which she had accompanied her three-year-old son. When El-Sherbini asked him to vacate a swing so that her son could play he accused her of being an Islamist and terrorist. Subsequently she sued for defamation and Wiens was fined 780 euros. It was during his appeal of the sentence in July that he lunged at El-Sherbini in the courtroom, stabbing her 18 times with a knife in front of her husband and son. She died in the courtroom. Her husband, who ran to her defence, was also stabbed by the defendant and accidentally shot by a guard who mistook him for the attacker. During the first hearing Wiens appeared in court in a hooded top and sunglasses. When the judge asked him to remove them he lowered the hood but refused to remove the glasses. The judge immediately fined him 50 euros for contempt of court. She then threatened a further fine when he refused to confirm his name and place of birth to the court. Wiens, who was born in Russia, came to Germany in 2003, when he was allegedly suffering from depression. His erratic behaviour has led to speculation that he is attempting to convince the court that he is of unsound mind in the hope of receiving a lighter sentence. If this is the case, says Tarek Abdel-Bari, professor of German literature at Ain Shams University, it is unlikely to work. "A specialist committee selected by the court to determine his psychological state is not going to have the wool pulled over their eyes by such antics. Equally, if he is seriously disturbed, then they will be able to assess his condition, and that will be taken into account during sentencing." Court psychiatric experts said they have found no evidence of diminished responsibility. Wiens, who faces charges of murder, attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm, could face life imprisonment if convicted -- a 15-year term according to German law. The trial is scheduled for 11 days during which the court will listen to 30 witnesses. The court heard the testimony of El-Sherbini's husband on Monday and that of the judge who presided over the July session, and witnessed the stabbing of El-Sherbini and her husband, on Tuesday. A verdict is expected by 11 November. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry has appointed two teams of lawyers, one German and one Egyptian, to defend the interests of the deceased and her family. The staff at the Egyptian embassy in Germany have also been instructed to attend the hearings.
