Dresden - A police officer recounted Tuesday the chaos and confusion inside a German courtroom murder scene, in the trial of a man accused of killing a pregnant Egyptian woman during a hearing on July 1.

Alex W, a German of Russian origin, is accused of stabbing to death Marwa al-Shirbini, 31, during the July appeal hearing after he had been already been ordered to pay a fine for verbally abusing the headscarf-wearing mother at a children's playground in 2008.

The trial has aroused strong emotions in al-Shirbini's native Egypt, where the case is being watched closely.

Taking the witness stand on the sixth day of the trial, a policeman said it was difficult to judge the situation as W attacked al-Shirbini in court. He described seeing two men, fighting over a knife.

"They were in motion, I could not tell who had the knife," the officer said, adding that they did not respond to heeds to stop fighting. "Then there was a shot."

The shot, fired by another officer, hit the husband of al-Shirbini in the thigh, as he was trying to defend his wife. The policeman who mistakenly fired the shot is under separate investigation.

The prosecution has argued that Alex W was motivated by a "pure hatred of non-Europeans and Muslims."

The now 28-year-old had called al-Shirbini a "terrorist" and a "slut" when they first met in August 2008, after she asked him to move from a swing her young son wanted to use.

W, who is unemployed, is charged with murder, attempted murder and causing aggravated bodily harm. He faces life imprisonment if convicted. (dpa)