Spain Murder Case: Convicted Government Employee Maintains Pension Benefits

In a surprising turn of events, a German civil servant, born in 1975 in Saxony-Anhalt, is currently receiving a pension despite being convicted in Spain for two counts of murder. The man, identified as Thomas H., was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Spanish court in February 2022, along with 23 and 16 years for attempted murder.

The case began in April 2019, when Thomas H., who was separated from his wife, lured his family to a remote cave on Tenerife. Tragically, in the cave, the 39-year-old woman and the older son were killed. The 7-year-old managed to escape.

The Federal Employment Agency argued in the proceedings that Thomas H.'s actions had violated human rights and thus the free and democratic basic order, specifically citing the murder of the wife as gender-specific violence or femicide. However, the case was dismissed, as the term is not defined in German law, and the pension could only be revoked if the convict was convicted by a German court.

This decision was made by two German courts in Halle and Magdeburg. The Senate, however, emphasized that the man's crimes, committed for private reasons, did not fall under the definition of violating the free and democratic basic order. The case is set to be reviewed by the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig.

In Spain, the court did not consider the crime as femicide. Similarly, the Senate in Germany did not consider the wife's murder as femicide, due to the lack of a specific definition in German law.

During the proceedings, it was mentioned that Thomas H.'s lawyer had paid around 300,000 euros in damages to the surviving son and the woman's heirs.

It is important to note that the case would be different if Thomas H. was convicted in Germany. The 2nd Senate in the oral hearing stated that if the case had been tried before a German court, the pension would have been revoked, even with a deliberate crime and a prison sentence of two years or more.

This controversial decision has sparked debate and calls for reform in German law, particularly regarding the definition and recognition of gender-based violence and femicide. The case serves as a reminder of the importance of clear and comprehensive laws in addressing such heinous crimes.