Neo-Nazi attack verdict looms

A German court says it will give a verdict next week on three neo-Nazis who kicked a Mozambican man to death.

The three men admit repeatedly kicking the man Alberto Adriano but their lawyers at a four-day trial in Halle have called for the murder charges against them to be reduced to manslaughter or deadly assault, on the grounds that they did not intend to kill their victim.

The prosecution says the victim was walking home through a park in the city of Dessau when the defendants attacked him, shouting racial abuse. He died in hospital three days later.

Correspondents say the case is regarded as important because of public and political demands for tough sentences to combat a resurgence of neo-Nazi attitudes in Germany.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service