{"id":303,"date":"2006-08-10T11:51:44","date_gmt":"2006-08-10T15:51:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/2006\/08\/10\/letter-from-munich-276\/"},"modified":"2006-08-17T05:08:23","modified_gmt":"2006-08-17T09:08:23","slug":"letter-from-munich-276","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/2006\/08\/10\/letter-from-munich-276\/","title":{"rendered":"Letter from Munich 276"},"content":{"rendered":"

Letter from Munich – the Joseph Affair \u2013 276<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Dusseldorf, 11 August 2006<\/p>\n

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

Continuation of the letter of last week (from an article on the World Socialist Website: \u201cDer Tod des sechsjaehrigen Joseph Abdulla\u201d, by Dietmar Henning, 30 November 2000, www.wsws.org\/de\/2000\/nov2000\/jose-n30.shtml):<\/p>\n

\u201cEven specialists in forensic medicine were unable to establish any indication that a crime had been committed. \u2018The deceased was not a swimmer. The possibility that he was pushed under the water by other children cannot be excluded.\u2019 The cause of death, they said, was \u2018most likely drowning.\u2019 The possibility of \u2018gross external violence was excluded\u2019. In response to the parents\u2019 complaints when the investigation was halted in the summer of 1998, the chief public prosecutor stated: \u2018Even if the course of events leading to the accident on 13 June cannot be confirmed to the last detail,\u2026the possibility that a third person is to blame for the death of Joseph Abdulla can assuredly be excluded.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWith that, the parents began their own investigation. Nearly twenty people, young persons and adults, documented their observations in signed statements. According to these statements, the \u2018accident\u2019 happened in the following way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Continued next week.<\/p>\n

Sincerely yours,<\/p>\n

Robert John Bennett<\/p>\n

Ernst-Gnoss-Strasse 22<\/p>\n

40219 Dusseldorf<\/p>\n

Germany<\/p>\n

Telephone: +49 211 586 4847<\/p>\n

Mobile: +49 152 0285 4626<\/p>\n

E-Mail: rjbennett@post.harvard.edu<\/p>\n

Websites: http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/MunichLetters<\/p>\n

http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/Germany2\/<\/p>\n

NOTE: The following letter was written by Saad and Renate Kantelberg-Abdulla, the parents of the boy Joseph (original German text below \/ deutsche Version liegt unten):<\/p>\n

Dear Bob,<\/p>\n

We are looking for an attorney experienced in international law who could represent us in the following:<\/p>\n

A lawsuit for obstructing the investigation of a racially-motivated murder,<\/p>\n

A lawsuit for damages resulting from our expulsion from the town of Sebnitz, in Germany, a town that allows only \u201cAryan Germans\u201d, in a \u201cforeigner-free\u201d zone.<\/p>\n

We are paying the mortgage on our house at Rosenstrasse 11 in Sebnitz, although we no longer live there. Eurohyp A.G. in Leipzig has threatened us with foreclosure, at an enormous loss for us, in which case we would be still be obligated to pay the remainder of the mortgage. In our second house in Sebnitz, at Hertigswalder Strasse 22, right-wing radicals are harassing our renters, in order to drive them from the building.<\/p>\n

It is our understanding that the lawsuits we are considering could perhaps be brought before a court in the United States under the Alien Tort Claims Act of 1789.<\/p>\n

We urgently need a contact address, preferably an e-mail address.<\/p>\n

Sincerely,<\/p>\n

Saad and Renate<\/p>\n

majoskant@t-online.de<\/em><\/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:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/MunichLetters<\/p>\n

D\u00fcsseldorf, den 11. August 2006<\/p>\n

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

Fortsetzung des Briefes (aus einem Artikel auf der World Socialist Website: \u201cDer Tod des sechsjaehrigen Joseph Abdulla\u201d, von Dietmar Henning, 30. November 2000, www.wsws.org\/de\/2000\/nov2000\/jose-n30.shtml):<\/p>\n

\u201eAuch die Gerichtsmediziner konnten keine Hinweise auf ein Gewaltverbrechen feststellen. \u201aDer Verstorbene war Nichtschwimmer. Es ist nicht auszuschlie\u00dfen, dass er von anderen Kindern untergetaucht wurde.\u2019 Todesursache sei \u201aam ehesten Ertrinken\u2019. Eine \u201agr\u00f6bere fremde Gewalteinwirkung\u2019 werde ausgeschlossen. Auf die Beschwerde der Eltern gegen die Einstellung der Ermittlungen antwortete der Generalstaatsanwalt im Sommer 1998: \u201aAuch wenn der Ablauf des Ungl\u00fccksfalles am 13. Juni nicht bis ins Detail gekl\u00e4rt werden konnte, … kann sicher ausgeschlossen werden, dass Dritte ein Verschulden am Tode des Joseph Abdulla trifft.\u2019<\/p>\n

Die Eltern ermittelten daraufhin auf eigene Faust. Fast zwanzig Personen, Jugendliche und Erwachsene, bezeugten in unterzeichneten Erkl\u00e4rungen ihre Beobachtungen. Danach spielte sich der \u201aBadeunfall\u2019 folgenderma\u00dfen ab.\u201c<\/p>\n

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

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

Robert John Bennett<\/p>\n

Ernst-Gnoss-Strasse 22<\/p>\n

40219 Dusseldorf<\/p>\n

Germany<\/p>\n

Telephone: +49 211 586 4847<\/p>\n

Mobile: +49 152 0285 4626<\/p>\n

E-Mail: rjbennett@post.harvard.edu<\/p>\n

Websites: http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/MunichLetters<\/p>\n

http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/Germany2\/<\/p>\n

Dies ist die urspr\u00fcngliche Version eines Briefes von Josephs Eltern, Saad und Renate Kantelberg-Abdulla:<\/p>\n

Lieber Bob,<\/p>\n

Wir suchen einen international t\u00e4tigen Rechtsanwalt, der uns in folgenden Punkten vertritt:<\/p>\n

1. Anklage wegen Vereitelung der Ermittlung eines rassistischen Mordes in Deutschland,<\/p>\n

2. Anklage auf Schadenersatz wegen Vertreibung aus der deutschen Stadt Sebnitz, eine Stadt, die nur reinrassische, so genannte \u201earische Deutsche\u201c in einer \u201eAusl\u00e4nderfrei Zone\u201c zul\u00e4sst.<\/p>\n

Wir bezahlen die Schulden f\u00fcr unser Haus in der Rosenstr. 11 in Sebnitz, obwohl wir nicht drin wohnen. Die Eurohyp in Leipzig droht schon wieder mit Zwangsversteigerung, nat\u00fcrlich mit hohen Verlusten, wobei man uns dann noch dazu verpflichten will, f\u00fcr die Restschulden aufzukommen. In unserem zweiten Haus in der Hertigswalder Str.22 in Sebnitz schikanieren Rechtsradikale unsere Mieter, um diese Mieter zu vertreiben.<\/p>\n

Wir verstehen, dass die Anklagen, die wir in Betracht ziehen, vor Gericht in den Vereinigten Staaten gebracht werden k\u00f6nnten, durch das Schadenersatzforderungsgestz f\u00fcr Ausl\u00e4nder (\u201eAlien Tort Claims Act of 1789\u201c).<\/p>\n

Wir brauchen dringend eine Kontaktadresse (E-Mail-Adresse).<\/p>\n

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

Saad und Renate<\/p>\n

majoskant@t-online.de<\/em><\/p>\n

============================<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Letter from Munich – the Joseph Affair \u2013 276 EINE DEUTSCHE FASSUNG STEHT WEITER UNTEN. (German translation below \u2013 German language character set required for correct display.) Dusseldorf, 11 August 2006 Dear Mr. Graf, dear friends, Continuation of the letter of last week (from an article on the World Socialist Website: \u201cDer Tod des sechsjaehrigen […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":167,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"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=303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}