Amnesty International Report 1996 - Germany
- Document source:
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Date:
1 January 1996
There were new allegations of ill-treatment of detainees by police officers. As in previous years the majority of the victims of alleged ill-treatment were foreign nationals, including asylum-seekers, or members of ethnic minorities. In April Binyamin Safak, a Turkish national arrested following an argument with police officers over parking, alleged that officers punched and kicked him in the face, chest, head and arms in a Frankfurt police station. He also alleged that one of the officers threw him head first against the wall of the cell. During the prolonged assault on him, Binyamin Safak's hands were secured behind his back. According to a medical certificate, the detainee's injuries included a cut to his lip which later required stitching; a fractured cheekbone; and a cracked rib. In July another Turk, Hidayet Secil, alleged that he was ill-treated by police officers who were called to his apartment in Göppingen following a complaint by a neighbour about noise. Hidayet Secil alleged that one officer punched him four times in the face and another repeatedly struck him with his baton while he was held by three other officers. Hidayet Secil's injuries included a suspected broken nose, bruising to the upper lip and upper jaw, and weals on his back. The police authorities brought complaints against both Binyamin Safak and Hidayet Secil for resisting state authority. Reports were received that in 1994 a number of African asylum-seekers detained in Bremen had been given emetics against their will in order to induce them to vomit up drugs they were alleged to have swallowed. Some detainees reported that when they refused to take the emetics they were threatened or ill-treated; others stated that they were racially abused in police custody. Decisions were reached by prosecuting and judicial authorities on a number of cases of alleged ill-treatment by police in previous years. In April the Hamburg Regional Court rejected Frank Fennel's appeal against a previous court ruling that there was insufficient evidence to try three police officers charged with causing him serious bodily harm (see Amnesty International Reports 1994 and 1995). Frank Fennel had been badly beaten by officers from police station 16, in July 1991. A court later awarded him compensation for his injuries. In November, one of the police officers, together with two other colleagues, went on trial for ill-treating Lutz Priebe in police station 16 in August 1989 (see Amnesty International Report 1994). Although a court had awarded him compensation for his injuries in February 1993, charges were not brought against the officers until March 1995. The trial was still continuing at the end of the year. In May, two Berlin police officers were charged with ill-treating Vietnamese asylum-seeker Nguyen T. following his arrest in June 1994 (see Amnesty International Report 1995). In July the Berlin prosecuting authorities concluded that there was insufficient evidence to charge two police officers with ill-treating Bülent Demir (see Amnesty International Report 1995). Bülent Demir, a German citizen of Turkish origin, had alleged that the officers had assaulted him after his arrest in April 1994. The officers denied ill-treating him, stating that the youth had tried to run away from them and had hit his face on the ground when he was caught. In October charges against Bülent Demir for resisting arrest were dropped. In the same month an appeal by Bülent Demir against the prosecuting authorities' decision not to charge the officers was rejected. In July the Berlin Regional Court upheld an appeal by three police officers convicted in September 1994 of ill-treating Habib J., an Iranian student (see Amnesty International Reports 1994 and 1995). Habib J. had alleged that the officers had ill-treated and racially abused him following his arrest in December 1992. Habib J. appealed against the decision of the Berlin Regional Court. In October, three Hamburg police officers were charged with causing bodily harm to journalist Oliver Ne, who had alleged that the officers had assaulted him while he was reporting on a demonstration in central Hamburg in May 1994 (see Amnesty International Report 1995). In December a court opened trial proceedings against two of the officers concerned. In November a doctor was charged with failing to render assistance to Nigerian asylum-seeker Kola Bankole in August 1994 (see Amnesty International Report 1995). Kola Bankole died after being bound and gagged and injected with a sedative when he physically resisted attempts by the Federal Border Police to deport him from Frankfurt am Main airport. Amnesty International expressed its concern to the authorities about allegations of ill-treatment brought to its attention throughout the year. In the majority of cases, the organization was informed that criminal investigations had been opened into the cases it had raised. In May Amnesty International published a report, Federal Republic of Germany: Failed by the system police ill-treatment of foreigners, in which it described in detail 20 out of a total of more than 70 allegations it had received between January 1992 and March 1995 that police officers had used excessive or unwarranted force in restraining or arresting people, or had deliberately subjected detainees to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Amnesty International made a number of recommendations relating to the rights of detainees in police custody; the investigation of allegations of police ill-treatment, and the prosecution of those responsible; and police training and disciplinary procedures. The need for improvements in these areas was largely rejected by the authorities at both national and regional level.
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