One of the three men on trial for beating a man to death in an eastern German town apologised to his widow yesterday.
Enrico Hilprecht (24) made a terse two-sentence statement in court saying he was sorry for what he had done and that he hoped to work in prison to send money to the victim's family.
Hilprecht and two 16-year-olds, Frank Miethbauer and Christian Richter, have admitted attacking Mozambique-born Mr Alberto Adriano two months ago, citing their hatred of foreigners as motive. But they maintain that they did not intend to kill him, according to a court spokesman.
Mr Adriano was kicked to death in a park in Dessau on June 11th. According to the official indictment, Hilprecht alone kicked Mr Adriano in the head at least 10 times with jackboots.
"I will not accept any money from my husband's murderers," said Ms Angelika Adriano afterwards outside the courtroom. She testified despite fear of reprisals from right-wing extremists. Last night she said she had received anonymous telephone calls overnight from people she believed were from "the extreme-right scene".
Ms Adriano has said she will no longer attend the trial until the verdict, expected next week.
Earlier in the day, witnesses to the attack said they had heard the assailants shout "Negro pig" and other abusive comments at Mr Adriano. The trial is the highest profile of its kind in Germany and the government intends to use it as an opportunity to show that such attacks will be tolerated no longer.
Another man kicked to death by neo-Nazis in the eastern town of Ahlbeck last month was remembered at a memorial service in the town yesterday. So far this year three men have been killed in suspected neo-Nazi attacks.
