Nearly three and a half years after the spectacular break-in at the Historic Green Vault (Grünes Gewölbe) in Dresden, the trial of the alleged perpetrators has finally been concluded: The Dresden Court has sentenced five young men from the Berlin-based Remmo clan for the jewel theft.
The judges handed down prison sentences ranging from four years and four months to six years and three months. The sixth defendant was acquitted because he was able to present an alibi for the night of the crime.
Of the six defendants, all of whom are brothers or cousins from the well-known Remmo clan, five had admitted in January, after a long silence, to having been involved either in the burglary itself or in its preparation. They showed remorse, possibly due to an agreement between the prosecution, defense and court. Previously, most of the loot was returned shortly before Christmas 2022, albeit partially damaged.
A total of 21 valuable pieces of jewelry were captured. Four of the defendants agreed to a controversial plea deal in which they explained through their lawyers their contribution to the crime. Another defendant also admitted his involvement, but limited it to obtaining tools such as axes used to destroy the museum display case. The defense asked for a reduced sentence for them based on assistance in solving the crime, pointing out that the museum's inadequate security "at least encouraged" the execution of the crime.
