In the so-called Ballstädt case, the Thuringian Office for the Protection of the Constitution (VS) continues to withhold important documents from the Erfurt Regional Court. Although the VS did transmit some documents to the Erfurt Regional Court on July 18, 2016, in response to an administrative lawsuit filed by the co-plaintiffs before the Weimar Administrative Court on June 28, 2016, these documents are redacted in crucial sections. As a result, the presiding judge at the Regional Court, Pröbstel, has already questioned the usefulness of the documents for the criminal proceedings and publicly criticized the Office for this in yesterday's hearing.
The refusal of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (VS) to cooperate with the criminal justice system in the Ballstädt trial, however, reaches grotesque proportions. "We were able to reconstruct the VS's redactions by consulting other criminal files related to right-wing terrorism. The VS's assumption that it must or even may keep the information secret from the criminal justice system is absurd and contradictory," states attorney Kristin Pietrzyk from Jena, representing the co-plaintiffs in the Ballstädt trial.
Due to procedural peculiarities, it could still be crucial that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (VS) provides the Erfurt Regional Court with the unredacted documents, even though it is aware of the content behind the redactions. "In the criminal proceedings, we will now propose that the redacted documents, along with a reconstruction of the content of the redactions, be returned to the VS, asking whether the redactions are still intended to be taken seriously under these circumstances," explains Göttingen-based lawyer Sven Adam, outlining the next steps for the co-plaintiffs. "If the VS continues to obstruct the Ballstädt proceedings in this way, we will certainly not withdraw the administrative court actions," Adam concludes for now.
Background to the Ballstädt trial: On the night of February 9, 2014, a group of at least 15 neo-Nazis attacked a local fairground celebration, brutally injuring numerous people, some seriously. Dangerous tools were used as weapons in the attack, which came as a complete surprise to the victims. The criminal proceedings have been pending before the Erfurt Regional Court since November 2015 and, depending on the progress of the evidence, are expected to continue throughout 2016.
Private prosecution in the Ballstädt trial:
Attorney Sven Adam │ www.anwaltskanzlei-adam.de
Attorney Maik Elster │ www.kanzlei-elster.de
Attorney Alexander Hoffmann │ www.anwalthoffmann.de
Attorney Rasmus Kahlen │ www.anwaltskanzlei-kahlen.de
Attorney Dr. Kati Lang │ www.anwaltskanzlei-lang.de
Attorney Kristin Pietrzyk │ www.kanzlei-elster.de
