A German court on Wednesday sentenced seven members and one supporter of a far-right terrorist cell to prison terms ranging from 18 months to five years, including for attacks on asylum seekers’ accommodation.

The Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg convicted the defendants, who were between 14 and 21 years old at the time of the offences, of charges including attempted murder, arson and causing dangerous bodily harm.

All were sentenced under Germany’s juvenile justice law, which can also apply to young adults. They were also convicted of membership or support of a terrorist organization.

The youngest defendant received an 18-month suspended prison sentence.

The group, which went by the name Last Wave of Defence (Letzte Verteidigungswelle), planned and carried out arson and bombing attacks targeting asylum accommodation and left-wing venues.

Prosecutors said an arson attack on a cultural centre in the eastern town of Altdöbern in October 2024 only narrowly avoided injuring people. The building was completely destroyed.

In January 2025, two members unsuccessfully attempted to set fire to an asylum seekers’ accommodation in the eastern town of Schmölln. They also daubed swastikas and slogans including “Foreigners out” on the building’s façade, prosecutors said.

Three other members also planned an arson attack using powerful fireworks on an asylum seekers’ accommodation in the town of Senftenberg. Prosecutors said the attack was prevented after journalists from Stern magazine and broadcaster RTL alerted authorities.

Members were also found to have taken part in so-called “paedo hunting,” targeting people they believed to be paedophiles.

Because of the defendants’ ages, the trial was held largely behind closed doors following the reading of the indictment in March. The verdict is not yet final and can be appealed.

German court jails far-right members over attacks on asylum seekers