Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Trials and tribulations in Germany

No, we are not talking about the trial in Munich against an alleged terrorist and her material supporters.
That trial, despite administrative snafus, appears to be doing okay.

There is, however, another trial in the east German city of Leipzig that really creeps us out.

A priest is accused of interfering with police during an anti-Nazi demonstration. He is accused of using the loudspeaker of his van to incite a riot, of harboring a person resisting arrest in the van and of trying to ram a police convoy.

We collected reports from various reputable German media outlets, and - as far as we understand them - the overall situation appears to be as follows.

The prosecution failed to provide all relevant files and information, including video of the event, to the defense, causing the trial to be moved to a later date.

The police commander responsible for the convoy stated in court there was no indication the priest tried to ram one of the police vehicles.

Audio and video of the event shows that the van played music at the time the priest was allegedly calling for protesters to attack the police.

Video of the person resisting arrest shows that he was never inside the van but tried to hang on to the outside of the van and was removed by police. Two officers are now being investigated for excessive use of force - based on the previously withheld video.

The main prosecution witness, another police officer, only made the allegations over six months after the event.

On top of all of this, there are allegations that statements favorable to the defendant were "lost".

In short, court reporters have asked why the allegations have not been dismissed.

The priest has a history of peaceful protest, beginning during the times of the East German protests that triggered the demise of East Germany.



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