Updated

A man accused of attacking the mayor of a small German town because of his welcoming stance toward refugees has been convicted of bodily harm and intimidation.

Prosecutors had charged the 56-year-old defendant with attempted murder. But news agency dpa reported Monday that the state court in Hagen couldn't establish the man intended to kill Altena Mayor Andreas Hollstein.

Hollstein was attacked with a kitchen knife at a local kebab restaurant in November and suffered a cut to his neck. A member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative party, he became known for voluntarily taking in more asylum-seekers than Altena was obliged to.

The mayor's attacker received a two-year suspended jail sentence. He has been identified only as Werner S. in line with German privacy laws.