Failed asylum seeker sentenced to life in German jail for murder

Right-wing groups siezed upon the case to slam Germany's open-door policy

WIESBADEN, GERMANY - JULY 10: Defendant Ali B., who is accused of murder, covers his face as he arrives for sentencing at a courtroom on July 10, 2019 in Wiesbaden, Germany. The defendant was sentenced to life in prison for the rape and murder of 14 year old Susanna F. in Mainz. (Photo by Ronald Wittek - Pool/Getty Images)
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An Iraqi man has been sentenced to life in a Germany jail after he was convicted of the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl.

Ali Bashar, who tried but failed to gain asylum in Germany, will spend at least 15 years behind bars. The presiding judge said the 22-year-old had shown “neither remorse nor empathy” and that during the trial “had voiced no sincere word of regret”.

"I have already been given a lifetime sentence,” the girls mother told the court last week.

Bashar had confessed to the killing of Susanna Feldman in May 2018 but denied the rape charges. The court heard he then sent false messages from the 14-year-old's smartphone indicating she had left for an impromptu trip to Paris.

By the time the body was found two weeks later Bashar and his family had left Germany for Iraqi Kurdistan. He was later extradited to Germany.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and other far-right groups seized on the brutal killing in their campaign against Chancellor Angela Merkel's asylum policy.

Bashar arrived in 2015 with his parents and siblings amid a migration influx that brought more than a million asylum seekers to Germany.

His asylum request was rejected in late 2016, but he obtained a temporary residence permit pending his appeal. Bashar also was accused of fighting, alleged robbery and possession of an illegal switchblade during his time in Germany.