Afghan Faces Trial Over Deadly Knife Attack On German Policeman

The knifeman initially attacked a speaker and other demonstrators, then stabbed a police officer who rushed in to help, and who died later the same day of his wounds (Credit: AFP)

An Afghan man with suspected jihadist motives goes on trial in Germany on Thursday over a knife attack that killed a policeman and wounded five others at an anti-Islam rally last year.

The hearings will start less than two weeks before German elections and at a time of heated debate about immigration and public security following a spate of deadly attacks blamed on asylum seekers.