Police violence and racism in Germany: Oury Jalloh was not an isolated case

After George Floyd's death, thousands worldwide protest against police violence and racism - structures that have also resulted in deaths in Germany. 

• George Floyd's violent death has sparked worldwide #Blacklivesmatter protests against racism and police violence
• Initiatives draw attention to racial profiling and deaths in police custody in Germany
• These people have died as a result of police violence in this country in the past twenty years

Frankfurt - After George Floyd's violent death in the United States , people worldwide demonstrate in solidarity against racist police violence . But during the protests in Germany , black activists also draw attention to institutional racism in Germany . Because here too, black people and other people of color are affected by racial profiling and racism by the police. Not least in the protests themselves. 

Brutal arrest at #Alexanderplatz! Take care, stay together, the cops pull people out for no reason.

No justice, no peace, fight the police! #Blacklivesmatterberlin pic.twitter.com/qLb4et0ujr

Racism and extreme right networks in the police force 

There are no isolated cases that are loudly criticized at the nationwide protests . It is well known in Hesse that right-wing extremist and racist ideologies are represented within the police force . So far, however, the problem has hardly been recognized at the systemic level. It is precisely this denial in the face of the many cases that have come to light that activists chalk up. 

Because even outside the right-wing extremist sentiment of some police officers, there is structural racism in Germany in the area of ​​"internal security". So-called racial profiling , i.e. police controls where people are suspected because of their skin color, is commonplace nationwide. Black young men are particularly affected. The United Nations Human Rights Council has already taken a stand on this and accused the Federal Government of not doing enough to combat everyday racism. 

In  Germany, people have already died as a result of structural racism .  So far, however, there has been no such outcry as after George Floyd's death  in Minneapolis. This is followed by an incomplete chronicle of the cases from the past twenty years and the initiatives that have been committed to dealing with them since then. 

Schweinfurt: Rooble Warsame dies in the cell of the police station (2019)

• Rooble Warsame: On February 26, 2019, the 22-year-old Somali refugee Rooble Warsame is led from an anchor center in Schweinfurt to the police station. At night he had been arguing with another man in the room of his collective accommodation. Both of them had drunk alcohol, but did not become palpable. The police who arrived said that drinking alcohol was not allowed, but Warsame said they bought it on-site. He did not oppose his arrest. A few hours later, he was found dead in his cell. The police speak of suicide . However, there are uncertainties regarding the more precise circumstances. His family, together with the Campaign for Victims of Racist Police Violence in Berlin (KOP), demand clarification. 

Hamburg: William Tonou-Mbobda dies after being violently held in a clinic (2019)

• William Tonou-Mbobda: In this case it is not violence by the police , but by the security forces of a clinic. The 34-year-old business student William Tonou-Mbobda went to the University Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) in spring 2019 to receive psychiatric treatment there. Since his condition did not improve, he should be instructed. But the decision had not yet been made on April 26. Tonou-Mbobda is said to have smoked on a bench in front of the clinic that day. As a result, security forces allegedly tried to bring him back to the clinic. The Cameroonian lost consciousness, had to be resuscitated and put into an artificial coma. He died five days later. 

We demand: #justiceformbobda!
Stop fatal racism in institutions! # AccountabilityNow! #DeathInCustodyDE #TodInGewahr pic.twitter.com/cW6hChlNtf

The State Criminal Police Office is investigating the security guards and the doctor who is suspected of being physically injured and may result in death. Other employees spoke to the "taz" of racism allegations against the security guards. The civil rights group "Black Community Coalition" demands clarification, but also an apology from the clinic and compensation for the funeral costs. 

Kleve: Amad Ahmad also dies of a fire in a cell

• Amad Ahmad: In September 2018, Amad Ahmad from Syria died after several weeks in custody from burns in his detention cell in Kleve in North Rhine-Westphalia. Ahmad is said to have set the cell on fire, but the official reports raise questions, including why it took so long for the prison staff to respond. Even before he died, it was clear that Ahmad was arrested innocently. Research by Monitor showed that the police in Kleve knew they had arrested the wrong man. But the investigation in this case was closed in 2019. 

The Amad Ahmad initiative, together with the Black People in Germany (ISD) initiative, collects money for further legal education. 

Fulda: police shoot Matiullah Jabarkhil in front of a bakery (2018) 

• Matiuallah Jabarkhil: The 19-year-old Afghan refugee Matiuallah Jabarkhil threw a stone against the window of a bakery on April 13, 2018. Then he met a supplier and seriously injured him. When the police arrived, Jabarkhil injured an officer and got hold of a truncheon. An officer stopped Jabarkhil 150 meters away and shot a total of twelve times . Four bullets hit the man, two of them fatal. According to the police officer, there had previously been an attack for which there were no other eyewitnesses. 

Under the name "Justice for Matiullah", people have demonstrated against what they see as excessive action by the police . In February 2019, the investigation against the police officers was terminated. A cell phone video of the event led to a brief resumption, but without any new conclusions on the part of the investigators. The association “Afghan Refugee Movement” further commemorates the case. A year later, alleged police critics alleging that the officials murdered a man were prosecuted. 

#BlackLivesMatter: The demo train through @fulda is almost 8 minutes long. #NoJusticeNoPeace and Stop #Racism are the slogans. #Fulda #Hessen #GeorgeFloyd pic.twitter.com/YFK1qXbpej

Hamburg: Yaya Jabbi died in his cell (2016)

• Yaya Jabbi: 21-year-old Yaya Jabbi was arrested in Hamburg St. Pauli in January 2016 after the police found 1.65 grams of marijuana from him. With such small quantities, criminal prosecution is usually avoided. Jabbi was detained for a month. Since Jabbi, a native of Guinea-Bissauer, was a refugee in Germany and thus had a family abroad, the judge assumed that there was a risk of escape. Jabbi committed suicide in the Hahnöfersand prison. 

The “Initiative in Memory of Yaya Jabbi” had put up a street sign and a plaque on a traffic island in Hamburg, which were removed from the city shortly thereafter. 

Berlin: Hussam Fadl is shot by the police in front of a refugee shelter (2016)

• Hussam Fadl: The Iraqi Hussam Fadl lived with his wife and three children in a refugee accommodation in the Moabit district of Berlin. On September 27, 2016, the police arrested a man there who is said to have sexually abused Fadl's six-year-old daughter. When the suspect was arrested in the car, Fadl ran towards the car in excitement. The three police officers present fired a total of four shots . He died shortly afterwards in the hospital. Witness reports on the course of the crime are contradictory, according to some statements Fadl is said to have held a knife. The investigations were initially stopped in 2017 with reference to self-defense. At the request of the Berlin Chamber Court, the public prosecutor's office should continue the investigation. A partial success, according to the activists of the Campaign for Victims of Racist Police Violence and the Campaign "Justice for Hussam Fadl", who, in addition to complete clarification, are also demanding another public prosecutor and criminal proceedings against the police officers . 

Thread: This week I read several comments in connection with the brutal murder of #GeorgeFloyd, in which it was written that something like that does not happen in Germany. Although here far fewer cases in relation to the population to pic.twitter.com/5MuF2JVibu

Dortmund: Ousman Sey dies in police custody (2012)

• Ousman Sey: On July 7, 2012, Ousman Sey called the ambulance early in the morning in his apartment in Dortmund because he felt bad. The paramedics noticed that his heart was racing, but he was not a case for the hospital. Half an hour later, he called the paramedics again, according to his brother, who was visiting Sey at the same time, with cramps. His physical condition made Sey aggressive, he smashed a window in the apartment. The police arrived at the same time as the paramedics. They again determined that Sey was not a case for the hospital. A neighbor, herself a nurse, disagreed. The police handcuffed the 45-year-old from Gambia and said that the police doctor would have him examined. At the guard, Sey collapsed and died shortly afterwards on the way to the hospital. His family and friends suspect that racism was the reason for the lack of help. The police vehemently disagree. At some demonstrations, activists from Antifa Dortmund asked for the case to be cleared up.

Frankfurt: Christy Schwundeck is shot by the police in the job center (2011)

• Christy Schwundeck: On May 19, 2011, 40-year-old Nigerian Christy Schwundeck tried to claim ten euros from her clerk at the Gallus job center in Frankfurt because she hadn't had any cash for days. When the police arrived, Schwundeck injured one of the officers with a knife and was then shot by a police officer . Since the prosecutor assumed self-defense, no charges were ever brought against the policewoman. The "Initiative Christy Schwundeck" questions the deadly violence of the police in the face of the acute threat and calls for further clarification of the case during demonstrations. 

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Dortmund: Police officers shoot Dominique Kouamayo (2006)

• Dominique Kouayamo: The 23-year-old Dominique Kouayamo came to Germany from the Congo alone as a teenager. In his spare time he made music and was very popular as an MC of the hip-hop scene in the Ruhr area. On April 14, 2006, he got into a dispute with a kiosk owner. When the police arrived, the officers fired two shots . These hit Kouamayo in the chest and left leg. Kouamayo is said to have held a knife in his hand and was about four meters away from the officers. 

The initiatives "Africa United" and the "Dominique Committee" doubt the need for deadly shots by the police. At demonstrations in Dortmund, they called for the trial to be opened. 

Dessau: Oury Jalloh dies in a police detention cell (2005)

• Oury Jalloh : When it comes to racism and police violence in Germany, the death of Oury Jalloh in January 2005 is one of the best known cases in recent years. This is sometimes due to Jalloh's friends and the various initiatives that have been investigating this case for years. The still unexplained events surrounding the death of Oury Jalloh provided , among other things, the template for an episode of the "crime scene" of the ARD *. Jalloh , an asylum seeker from Sierra Leone at the time, was taken to a detention cell in Dessau in January 2005 by the police with his hands and feet fixed. He was burned in the cell two hours later. 

#RacistGermanPolice killed and burnt # OuryJalloh # SystematicCoverUp by "#StateOfLaw"
Arbitrary #Prosectution of #HumanRightsActivists

Check out #UN_WGEPAD report on #Germany
https://t.co/4Q2EhlVQoL pic.twitter.com/YXB2kJTr

The "Initiative in Memory of Oury Jalloh " accuses the police in Dessau of maltreating Jalloh because his body has been seriously injured. A medical report supports this suspicion. These and other questions remained unresolved during the investigation, but it was discontinued in early 2019. 

Bremen: Laya-Alama Condé dies in police custody after the use of emetic agents (2004/2005)

• Laya-Alama Condé: The 35-year-old Laya-Alama Condé was arrested on the night of December 27, 2004 in Bremen on suspicion of drug trafficking. Since the police officers suspected Condé of having swallowed cocaine pellets, the police doctor Igor V. forced him to use an emetic. The man from Sierre Leone resisted the gag reflex, then had to vomit half a gram of cocaine mixture. His physical condition worsened. During the procedure, he fell into a coma and died a few days later, in early 2005. The exact cause of death could not be determined in the subsequent process. 

Igor V., an employee of the Bremen Evidence Service, was charged in 2006 with charges of negligent homicide . V. was acquitted because he was "overwhelmed due to lack of experience". Condé's family was acquitted of the acquittal by the Federal Supreme Court. At a new trial in 2011, V. was acquitted again because the court saw Condé's heart defect as the cause of death. The third trial was terminated in 2013 on the condition that V. pays 20,000 euros to Condé's mother. 

The controversial emetic Ipecacuanhasirup was allowed in Bremen as a means of preserving evidence. The federal states of Berlin and Lower Saxony had already ended its use after the death of Achidi John (2001). Bremen only stopped practicing after the death of Laya-Alama Condé. 

Hamburg: Achidi John dies after the use of emetics by the police (2001)

• Achidi John: The case of Achidi John is very similar to the death of Condé four years later. The 19-year-old was arrested on December 8, 2001 by the Hamburg police on suspicion of drug trafficking and taken to a forensic doctor. When he resisted the introduction of a gastric tube, the police fixed him. After he was given Ipecacuan hash syrup, John fell to the floor and his condition deteriorated rapidly. Attempts to resuscitate were unsuccessful, and John died shortly thereafter. 

According to the autopsy, Achidi John died of brain death due to lack of oxygen. This had caused a cardiac arrest. John is said to have had a heart defect before. In addition, several balls of crack and cocaine were removed from his gastrointestinal tract. The medical examiner involved was not prosecuted, the public prosecutor's office closed all proceedings. 

Racist police violence in Germany: not an isolated case

These are some of the well-known cases since 2000 in which people affected by racism have died as a result of police treatment . But several such deaths are also known from earlier years. The current demonstrations also focus on black people who died while being deported from Germany or fleeing to Europe.  

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The call for the numerous protests that are now taking place here after the death of the American George Floyd was similar everywhere: These are not isolated cases. Institutional racism also appears to exist in the security authorities in Germany  . Campaigns such as KOP and the group “Death in Custody” meanwhile document the deaths of black people and other people of color who have died in police custody. In their research, they have come up with 159 cases since 1990. 

By Valérie Eiseler

The word black is capitalized here, in the sense of the self-designation of black people.

Note: The number of people who died in police custody has been corrected from 138 cases since 1993 to 159 cases since 1990, according to the latest information from Death in Custody. 

Whether something changes in racism depends on whether a permanent movement develops this time. A commentary on the "Black Lives Matter" movement *.

There are also discussions about racism and police violence in France *.

* fr.de is part of the nationwide Ippen editorial network

List of rubric lists: © Christian Charisius / dpa