Top German court rejects appeals in far-right killing

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s top court has dismissed appeals in the killing of a regional politician who had advocated helping refugees. The Federal Court of Justice confirmed the life sentence handed to a far-right extremist convicted of carrying out the execution-style slaying that shocked the country. Walter Luebcke, who led the regional administration in the Kassel area of central Germany, was shot dead on his front porch in 2019. A Frankfurt regional court last year convicted neo-Nazi Stephan Ernst and ruled that he would not automatically be eligible for release after 15 years due to the severity of his crime. The Federal Court of Justice rejected an appeal by Ernst’s lawyers challenging that decision.