Göttingen, September 7, 2022
In the so-called Fretterode trial before the Mühlhausen Regional Court (Case No.: 3 KLs 101 Js 47753/18 jug), the defense of the accused neo-Nazis maintained their line in their closing arguments on the 34th day of the trial, denying and downplaying the events surrounding the attack on April 29, 2018, and attempting to reverse the roles of perpetrator and victim.
Already in the first days of the trial, which has now lasted a year, the defense revealed a strategy in the defendants' statements: they claimed that the defendants were actually the victims of attempted murder and assault by the journalists who had been attacked and seriously injured. In closing arguments, the two specialist journalists were once again denied their journalistic status, even though the court had already confirmed the journalistic activity of the co-plaintiffs in a ruling based on the evidence presented at the beginning of the trial on September 13, 2021. Contrary to the findings of an expert from the Thuringian State Criminal Police Office (LKA), the defense continues to assert that the high-resolution images submitted to the investigation file had been manipulated. Contrary to the clear results of the evidence, they further claim that the co-plaintiffs, instead of the defendants, had carried a baseball bat with which they attacked the two defendants. Furthermore, one of the defendants was almost run over by the journalists' reckless driving at Thorsten Heise's property, although, in the absence of any contrary reality, no one except the defendants saw such an action by the co-plaintiffs.
"The entire defense strategy is based on denial, trivialization, and victim-blaming, and is outrageous. There was no attack, no attempted running over, and no other aggressive or physical violence against the defendants or Thorsten Heise's property in Fretterode. The two co-plaintiffs were present as members of the press for research purposes and, as such, were chased, brutally attacked, and seriously injured without any justifiable reason. The two perpetrators are neo-Nazis who, with the press as a conscious and internally communicated enemy image, began the attack, carried it out over a considerable distance and over a longer period, and ended it with the deliberate and intentional theft of the photographic equipment using violence and weapons. That is our view of the evidence. It is only thanks to sheer luck that no one died that day," commented Sven Adam, the Göttingen co-plaintiffs' attorney, on the transparent attempts by the defense to reinterpret the events of April 29, 2018, contrary to the findings of the evidence.
“Since the start of the main trial, we have witnessed a performance that attempts to portray the perpetrators of a brutal and consequential attack on journalists as the actual victims of an attack. The evidence presented has proven the opposite and refuted the defendants' statements,” added Göttingen lawyer Rasmus Kahlen, who also represents the co-plaintiffs, regarding the co-plaintiffs' perspective on the defense strategy.
For further questions, please contact the lawyers Sven Adam and Rasmus Kahlen using the contact details provided.
Background:
Two journalists from Göttingen were in the town of Fretterode at the end of April 2018 for research purposes when they were spotted by individuals from the far-right spectrum. As they attempted to leave in their car, they were pursued by two people in a black BMW. A chase ensued along the country road and through the towns of Fretterode and Germershausen. The journalists were caught by their pursuers at the entrance to Hohengandern. After the journalists' car came to a stop in a ditch, the two right-wing extremists first attacked the car and then the occupants with a baseball bat, a knife, a 40-50 cm long wrench, and pepper spray. The photographer suffered, among other injuries, a stab wound to the thigh. His companion was struck on the head with the heavy wrench, suffering a fractured skull and a laceration. The car's windows were smashed, the rear tires were punctured, and the photographer's camera and camera bag were stolen. The perpetrators then fled in the black BMW. At the request of the seriously injured victims, local residents were able to call emergency services and the police.
The photographer was able to take photos of one of the perpetrators from his own vehicle. The SD card containing these photos did not fall into the hands of the neo-Nazis and has been handed over to the investigating authorities.
ra sven adam
contact@anwaltskanzlei-adam.de
http://www.anwaltskanzlei-adam.de
ra rasmus kahlen
contact@anwaltskanzlei-kahlen.de
http://www.anwaltskanzlei-kahlen.de
Lange Geismarstraße 55
37073 Göttingen
Tel.: (0551) 4 88 31 69
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