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Police vehicle in front of the Hannover Medical School
Photo: Julian Stratenschulte/ dpa
At the Hannover Medical School (MHH), two bodies were mixed up in early December.
As a result, a Muslim was accidentally cremated last week.
Cremation is considered a taboo in Islamic funeral rites.
"The MHH deeply regrets the mix-up, our sympathy goes to the relatives," said a spokesman for the medical school on Friday.
The police are involved.
The body of the 71-year-old Turkish citizen was burned in the crematorium last Friday, as reported by the "Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung".
Actually, the body of an 81-year-old from the Hanover region should be cremated.
On Monday was the burial with the urn and the wrong deceased.
According to information from the dpa news agency, the bodies had been mixed up in the MHH in early December.
The mistake was noticed when the supposed body of the 71-year-old was to be prepared for burial.
The relatives of the accidentally burned 71-year-old have turned on the police.
"We are in contact with the members of both families," confirmed a spokesman for the Hanover police.
There are no criminal investigations, as there is no indication of an intentional act.
"But we are looking at the workflows for the autopsies in the MHH," said the spokesman.
Action "reckless and irresponsible," criticizes the national association of Muslims
The state association of Muslims, Schura Lower Saxony, was appalled and shocked.
In a written statement, the chairman, Recep Bilgen, demanded that those responsible at MHH must deal with the error objectively and without any gaps.
He criticized the actions of the MHH as "reckless and irresponsible".
To the suffering of the bereaved, another has now been added.
This incident is particularly serious for the Muslim family, since according to Islamic beliefs, the dead may not be cremated.
The medical school did not want to comment on the accusation of the Shura.
The managing director of the Turkish mosque association Ditib in Lower Saxony and Bremen, Emine Oguz, made a similar statement in a written statement.
She said simply regretting the case is not enough.
"It is now important that all responsible authorities work together to ensure that this unforgivable 'mistake' does not occur again."
mgo/dpa
