{"id":274,"date":"2006-06-13T10:47:15","date_gmt":"2006-06-13T14:47:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/letter-from-munich-106\/"},"modified":"2006-06-13T10:47:15","modified_gmt":"2006-06-13T14:47:15","slug":"letter-from-munich-106","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/letter-from-munich-106\/","title":{"rendered":"Letter from Munich – 106"},"content":{"rendered":"

Letter from Munich – the Joseph Affair \u2013 106 <\/strong><\/p>\n

EINE DEUTSCHE FASSUNG STEHT WEITER UNTEN. (German translation below \u2013 German language character set required for correct display.) <\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.joseph_affair.blogspot.com <\/p>\n

17 January 2003 <\/p>\n

Dear Mr. Graf, dear friends, <\/p>\n

One of my friends wanted to read to us the transcript of Daniel Steiner\u2019s interrogation, which he\u2019d mentioned in last week\u2019s letter. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe should first notice,\u201d he said, \u201cthat it states in the transcript that the questioning began at 5:45 p.m. In the official \u2018Remark\u2019 read out last week, the officer had said that Daniel and the officers had arrived at Dresden Police Headquarters and then, \u2018At 2:00 p.m. Daniel was asked to wait in a duty room at police headquarters because his questioning was going to be delayed.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cThat means that Daniel had to wait three hours and forty-five minutes,\u201d my friend added. \u201cHe was tired, he hadn\u2019t slept very well, and he had a cold. What did he think about during those three hours and forty-five minutes? Did he think about the threats that various right-wing extremists had directed at him? Did he think about the danger that he and his mother were in from these people, a danger that he had often mentioned during other interrogations? Isn\u2019t it unusual, to put it mildly, that he was picked up at 1 p.m., arrived in Dresden at 2 p.m., and then was questioned at 5:45 p.m.? Could you perhaps think that there might have been an attempt at intimidation on the part of the police?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cOf course not,\u201d I said. \u201cWhat a terrible idea. Intimidation by the police \u2013 something like that would be impossible in Germany.\u201d <\/p>\n

He ignored my comment. \u201cDaniel had already often mentioned,\u201d he said, \u201cthat he was afraid of right-wing police officers.\u201d <\/p>\n

He looked at us, but no one said a word. \u201cIsn\u2019t Daniel\u2019s statement,\u201d he wemt on, \u201cthe one he gave to a judge and to the Dresden district attorney, the one I read to you, in which he describes the details of Joseph\u2019s death, isn\u2019t that statement perhaps more reliable? Don\u2019t forget that Daniel was completely alone at police headquarters, without his mother and without a lawyer. Was that right? Is that what German law is like?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIf that\u2019s German law,\u201d I said, somewhat shocked, \u201cthen it must be right.\u201d <\/p>\n

He began to read the transcript of the interrogation. <\/p>\n

\u201cDresden Police Headquarters, Criminal Investigation Department, Homicide Squad. November 26, 2000. Start: 5:45 p.m. Interrogation. Daniel Steiner, born March 9, 1985, resident at Hertigswalderstrasse 22, 01855 Sebnitz, was picked up from his home for the interrogation. <\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Daniel Steiner was informed of the purpose of the interrogation. He was instructed, with all due emphasis, as to his rights and duties as a witness. Taking part in the interrogation were Mr. Flockerzi, district attorney, Detective Superintendent Bischoff, Detective Superintendent Guenther, and Ms. Hildebrand, stenographer.\u201d <\/p>\n

Continued next week. <\/p>\n

Sincerely yours, <\/p>\n

Robert John Bennett <\/p>\n

Mauerkircherstrasse 68 <\/p>\n

81925 Germany <\/p>\n

Telephone: +49.89.981.0208 <\/p>\n

E-Mail: robert_john_bennett@hotmail.com <\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.joseph_affair.blogspot.com <\/p>\n

——————————————————————————————————- <\/p>\n

Since many recipients of this letter may read German more easily than they read English, the following is the author\u2019s translation of the above letter. Please note that word-processing programs outside of German-speaking countries may not display all of the letters of the German alphabet correctly. <\/p>\n

Alle Briefe aus M\u00fcnchen sind abrufbar: http:\/\/www.joseph_affair.blogspot.com <\/p>\n

M\u00fcnchen, den 17. Januar 2003 <\/p>\n

Sehr geehrter Herr Graf, sehr geehrte Freunde, <\/p>\n

einer meiner Freunde wollte das Protokoll der Zeugenvernehmung von Daniel Steiner vorlesen, die im letzten Brief aus M\u00fcnchen erw\u00e4hnt wurde. <\/p>\n

\u201eErstens sollten wir bemerken\u201c, sagte er, \u201edass es im Protokoll steht, dass diese Vernehmung um 17.45 begann. Im \u201aVermerk\u2019 von der letzten Woche, hat der Beamte gesagt, dass Daniel und die zust\u00e4ndigen Beamten im Dresden Polizeipr\u00e4sidium angekommen sind, und dann: \u201a14.00 Uhr wurde Daniel gebeten, in einem Dienstraum des Polizeipr\u00e4sidium zu warten, da sich die geplante Ma\u00dfnahme noch etwas verz\u00f6gert\u2019. <\/p>\n

Das hei\u00dft, Daniel musste drei Stunden und f\u00fcnfundvierzig Minuten warten\u201c, f\u00fcgte mein Freund hinzu. \u201eEr m\u00fcde, er hat nicht gut geschlafen und er hat sich erk\u00e4ltet. Woran hat er gedacht w\u00e4hrend dieser drei Stunden und f\u00fcnfundvierzig Minuten? Hat er an die Drohungen gedacht, die verschiedene Rechtsradikale an ihn gerichtet haben. Hat er an die von ihm so oft w\u00e4hrend anderer Zeugenvernehmungen erw\u00e4hnte Gefahr f\u00fcr ihn und seine Mutter gedacht? Und warum musste er drei Stunden und f\u00fcnfundvierzig Minuten warten? Ist es nicht ungew\u00f6hnlich, gelinde gesagt, dass er um 13.00 Uhr abgeholt wurde, um 14.00 Uhr in Dresden angekommen ist, und dann ab 17.45 vernommen wurde? K\u00f6nnte man vielleicht denken, dass es hier um einen Einsch\u00fcchterungsversuch der Polizei geht? <\/p>\n

\u201eNat\u00fcrlich nicht\u201c, sagte ich. \u201eWelche eine schreckliche Idee. Einsch\u00fcchterung durch die Polizei \u2013 so etwas w\u00e4re in Deutschland unm\u00f6glich\u201c. <\/p>\n

Er \u00fcberh\u00f6rte meine Bemerkung. \u201eDaniel hatte schon oft erw\u00e4hnt\u201c, sagte er, \u201edass er Angst vor rechtsgerichtete Polizeibeamte habe\u201c. <\/p>\n

Er schaute uns an, aber alle schwiegen. Er fuhr fort, \u201eIst Daniels Aussage vor der Richterin und dem Staatsanwalt in Dresden, die ihnen allen schon vorgelesen wurde und in der er Josephs Tod ausf\u00fchrlich beschriebe, nicht vielleicht zuverl\u00e4ssiger? Vergessen Sie nicht, dass Daniel dort im Polizeipr\u00e4sidium ganz allein war, ohne seine Mutter und ohne einen Rechtsanwalt. War das recht? Ist das deutsches Recht?\u201c <\/p>\n

\u201eWenn das deutsches Recht ist\u201c, sagte ich, etwas schockiert, \u201edann muss es recht sein\u201c. <\/p>\n

Er fing an, das Protokoll der Zeugenvernehmung vorzulesen: <\/p>\n

\u201ePolizeipr\u00e4sidium Dresden, Kriminalpolizeiinspektion, Mordkommission. Den: 26.11.2000. Beginn: 17.45 Uhr. Zeugenvernehmung. Zur Zeugenvernehmung wurde von zu Hause abgeholt der Steiner, Daniel, geb. am 09.03.1985, wh. 01855 Sebnitz, Hertigswalderstr. 22. <\/p>\n

Herrn Daniel Steiner wurde der Gegenstand der Vernehmung mitgeteilt. Er wurde nachdr\u00fccklich auf seine Rechte und Pflichten als Zeuge belehrt. An der Vernehmung nehmen teil der Vertreter des Staatsanwaltschaft, Herrn StA Flockerzi, Herr KHK Bischoff, Herr KHK G\u00fcnther und als Protokollantin Frau Hildebrand\u201c. <\/p>\n

Forsetzung n\u00e4chste Woche. <\/p>\n

Mit freundlichen Gr\u00fc\u00dfen <\/p>\n

Robert John Bennett <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Letter from Munich – the Joseph Affair \u2013 106 EINE DEUTSCHE FASSUNG STEHT WEITER UNTEN. (German translation below \u2013 German language character set required for correct display.) http:\/\/www.joseph_affair.blogspot.com 17 January 2003 Dear Mr. Graf, dear friends, One of my friends wanted to read to us the transcript of Daniel Steiner\u2019s interrogation, which he\u2019d mentioned in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":167,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-274","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/167"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/274\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}