Inside the Alaa M. Trial #79: You Are The Only Person I Would Never Lie To

Higher Regional Court – Frankfurt, Germany

Trial Monitoring Summary #79

Hearing Date: July 09 & 11, 2024

CAUTION: Some testimony includes descriptions of torture.

Note that this summary is not a verbatim transcript of the trial; it is merely an unofficial summary of the proceedings.

Throughout this summary, [information located in brackets are notes from our trial monitor] and “information placed in quotes are statements made by the witness, judges or counsel.” The names and identifying information of witnesses have been redacted.

[Note: SJAC continues to provide a summary of the proceedings while redacting certain details to protect witness privacy and to preserve the integrity of the trial.]

SJAC’s 79th trial monitoring report details days 139 and 140 of the trial of Alaa M in Frankfurt, Germany. On the first trial day, a new witness appeared in court, a Federal Police (BKA) investigator who questioned P38, P41, P42 and P35 in [redacted location] in November 2020. The investigator emphasized his lack of memory regarding details from the police questioning. After a few initial questions, it became clear that he did not recall much from the interrogation, relying instead on the police questioning transcripts he reviewed to prepare for the trial. Therefore, the parties agreed to introduce the transcripts as documentary evidence by taking cognizance of the wording of the documents and to question the BKA officer only about contradictory statements of the witnesses.

On the second day this week, a Regional Criminal Police Office (LKA) investigator was questioned about [redacted name], a close acquaintance of Alaa M. The investigator participated in the questioning of [redacted name] in 2021 but could not recall details and was dismissed. The Judges then read a BKA report indicating a close relationship between [redacted name] and Alaa M., who lived together in [redacted location] for at least a month in [redacted time] 2017. Alaa M. was the reference for [redacted name]'s visa application in Germany. They regularly texted, met in person, and shared articles and social media posts about the allegations against Alaa M. In one message, Alaa M. told [redacted name] he was the only person he confided in and would never lie to him.

Day 139 – July 9, 2024

On the first trial day this week, a new witness appeared in court. Horst Thomas Schadenberg is a BKA investigator who questioned four witnesses in [redacted location] in November 2020. The witnesses were P38,
P41, P42 and P35.

The BKA officer emphasized his lack of memory regarding details from the police questioning. After a few initial questions, it became clear that he did not recall much from the questioning, relying instead on the police questioning transcripts he reviewed to prepare for the trial.

Officer Schadenberg recalled that he took over the questioning from his colleague, Mr. Deußing, the BKA chief investigator. Schadenberg was only given a questionnaire and pictures for the questioning. He remembered the accusations against Alaa M. because they were unusual.

Presiding Judge Koller initiated the questioning by asking the BKA investigator about his general practices in witness questioning. The officer explained that one priority is ensuring that the witness reliably understands what they are being told and asked. He kept in mind that all the witnesses he questioned understood the proceedings well, with only P42 using an interpreter. The investigator explained that after the questioning, the transcript was drafted and printed. It was then read by the witnesses, who were encouraged to make hand-written annotations if they wanted to change their statements. This procedure was conducted to ensure the statements' accuracy.

The BKA officer did not remember where the questioning took place, initially guessing incorrectly before recalling it was in [redacted location]. He then recounted an anecdote about the room being double-booked and having to switch during the questioning.

Judge Rhode then continued the questioning, asking investigator Schadenberg what he remembered about P38’s personal information and professional career. The officer recalled that P38 was born in [redacted time] in [redacted location], graduated from high school in [redacted time], finished his medical studies in [redacted time] and conducted his medical specialist training from around [redacted time] until [redacted time]. The officer remembered that all witnesses said they had to switch hospitals during their training, but their statements varied about how often they switched. The investigator recounted that P38 received his medical training at Tishreen Hospital, Al-Mazzeh Hospital and [redacted name] Hospital (all are military). Additionally, P38 worked in [redacted name], [redacted name], and [redacted name] (all of those are civilian hospitals). The officer recalled that he had wondered why P38 had been working with so many military hospitals and then switched to civil ones again.

Judge Rhode then asked why the four witnesses had applied for asylum. [Note: The trial monitor is unsure how the judge intended this question, as the witnesses might have also entered Germany with a visa.] The BKA officer recalled that P38 claimed political reasons whereas the other witnesses sought further education in Germany. P38 stated that the ongoing war in Syria and persecution of Christians by both Sunnis and the Assad regime were reasons for his asylum request. He also mentioned seeing the mistreatment of detainees in hospitals but not intervening due to fear for his parents and himself. Judge Rhode asked if P38 expressed fear because of the police questioning. The investigator affirmed, recalling that P38 requested anonymity during questioning, which was not possible, but agreed to continue. Judge Rhode drew from the police transcript that P38 stated he had great concerns about the police questioning because his brother was still in Syria with his pregnant wife and daughter.

Judge Rhode then asked the BKA officer how P38 met the Accused, Alaa M. The officer answered that they met in the emergency room but were not close. Judge Rhode corrected by inferring from the police transcript that P38 and Alaa M. had met in the hospital during their medical training.

This prompted Defense Counsel Endres to question the usefulness of the questioning of investigator Schadenberg. He expressed his concern that the BKA officer did not speak about his recollection of the actual police questioning in 2020 but could only speak about what he read from the police report in preparation for the trial’s hearing. Endres suggested dismissing the investigator and instead reading out the police questioning transcripts from 2020. Presiding Judge Koller proposed to introduce the police questioning reports as documentary evidence by taking cognizance of the wording of the documents (self-reading procedure) [Section 249 (2) German Code of Criminal Procedure] and to question the officer only about contradictory statements of P38, P41, P42 and P35. All parties agreed. The Judges took a 30-minute break, which they extended for another 15 minutes, to prepare the Judges’ decision and the further questioning of the BKA officer.

***

[45-minutes-break]

***

After the break, Presiding Judge Koller read out the Judges’ decision to introduce the police questioning reports as documentary evidence by taking cognizance of the wording of the documents, according to Section 251 (1) Nr 1, 249 (2) German Code of Criminal Procedure. The Judges notified the parties that they would take cognizance of the police questioning reports' wording until the following Monday, July 15, 2024. The parties to the proceedings would have the chance to read the reports too, as they are part of the case file. The Accused will read the report and will be assisted by the interpreter, if necessary.

Judge Rhode then continued questioning Mr. Schadenberg. Scans of the police questioning reports were shown to the BKA investigator and projected via screens to the public audience.

First, the police questioning of P38, born on [redacted time], who was questioned on [redacted time], 2020, was discussed. The discussion revolved around hand-written corrections that P38 had made on the police report, which he then signed. The BKA officer asserted that all corrections in German were done by the witness himself. If the correction was written in Arabic and in German, it was written by the witness in Arabic and then translated to German and signed by the interpreter.

Judge Rhode referenced a passage from the police questioning report in which P38 stated that he believed the claims made by Al-Jazeera against Alaa M. because M. had ‘access to the restricted area, to which only certain people, mainly soldiers, had access. Civilian doctors did not. Alaa M., however, had access to this area.’ [Note: The trial monitor copied this quote from the police questioning report from the screen.] The BKA officer added that he thought P38 said ‘soldiers’ but meant ‘military doctors.’ However, he was not sure.

Subsequently, Judge Rhode discussed the police questioning report of P41, born on [redacted time]. The police questioning report further detailed that P41 stated he first saw Alaa M. in the emergency room, and that they were colleagues but in different departments and not close to each other. P41 remembered that Alaa M. was sick or injured and extended his sick leave. Afterwards, he only saw M. once or twice.

Judge Rhode wanted to resolve a discrepancy between P41's statements in the police questioning and the Court hearing. In the police questioning, P41 stated he did not see beatings. In the Court hearing, he testified he did see beatings. The investigator iterated that he did not know anything more than what he had written in the police report.

After that, the police report of P42’s statement was discussed. Judge Rhode inquired about a discrepancy between P42’s use of the words “wheal” [German: Striemen] and “bruise” [German: Prellung], which he said he evidenced in the military hospital. Due to his lack of memory, the BKA officer could not resolve this discrepancy.

Finally, the police report of P35 from [redacted time], 2020 was discussed.  Judge Rhode sought to clarify what P35 meant when he referred to Alaa M. as “extremely/overly cool” [German: obercool] and whether this was meant positively or suggested that Alaa M. was arrogant. The investigator recalled perceiving P35 and Alaa M. as friends and interpreted the statement as positive. Judge Rhode then asked about P35’s statement on [redacted name] in which he described [redacted name] as extremely religious. The officer noted that he did not remember the exact statement and could not add any clarification. The investigator then described that it must have smelled like dead bodies in the hospitals.

The proceedings were adjourned at 12:45 PM.

The next trial day will be on July 11, 2024, at 10 AM.

Day 140 – July 11, 2024

In the second session this week, Werner Hellemann, a Regional Criminal Police Office (LKA) investigator, was heard. The officer participated in the police questioning of [redacted name] on [redacted time], 2021. [Note: [Redacted name] appears to be a friend or close acquaintance of Alaa M. He has not yet appeared in court.] The investigator did not have any specific memories from the police questioning, and they also did not come back after he re-read the transcripts. Therefore, the parties quickly agreed to introduce the police questioning reports as documentary evidence by taking cognizance of the wording of the documents (self-reading procedure) [Note: The same procedure that was used on trial day 139.].

Nonetheless, Presiding Judge Koller asked the police officer to describe how he normally examines witnesses. The officers stressed that he did not recall the day of [redacted name]'s questioning because his colleague, Mr. Barnisch, led the questioning and he himself merely took notes during the questioning. He explained that in 90% of the cases, the questioning is recorded, and the recording is sent to a private company which transcribes the recording and sends it back to the LKA for revision. The original version of the transcript remains with the LKA and the revised version is added to the files. Judge Koller expressed his frustration with this procedure because the witness was not given the chance to re-read the transcript and make final clarifications or corrections. Moreover, Koller voiced his concerns about the involvement of a private company.

Then, Judge Rhode addressed the investigator. The Judge reiterated that [redacted name] stated that Alaa M. asked him to help out in a field hospital. [Note: It was not apparent to the trial monitor when and where [redacted name] stated this.] This statement was not found in the police transcript. Judge Rhode asked the officer if he remembered anything about a field hospital and whether [redacted name] might have said something about it during a break. The LKA officer did not recall anything about the field hospital. He explained that, had [redacted name] said something in the break, he and the lead investigator would have repeated the question again after the break, to make sure it was part of the recording.

Defense Counsel Endres asked the witness in which language the questioning of [redacted name] took place. The investigator could not remember but assumed it was conducted either entirely or mainly in Arabic, with the help of an interpreter.

The LKA officer found the original recording of [redacted name]'s questioning and made it available to the Court.

***

[30-minutes-break]

***

After the break, Presiding Judge Koller recited the Judges’ decision to introduce the police questioning reports as documentary evidence by taking cognizance of the wording of the documents, according to Section 251 (1) Nr 1, 249 (2) German Code of Criminal Procedure. The Judges will take cognizance of the police questioning reports' wording until the following Thursday, 18 July 2024. The parties to the proceedings will have the chance to read the reports too, as they are part of the case file. The Accused will read the report and will be assisted by the interpreter, if necessary.

Judge Koller clarified that the recording of [redacted name]'s questioning was sent to the BKA for transcription, not the private company. The LKA investigator repeated that he did not recall the questioning or the following procedure. At this point, Judge Koller appeared to be very frustrated. He reprimanded the officer for not remembering and not being better prepared.

After the witness was dismissed, Judges Koller and Rhode read out a report from the BKA Mannheim from [redacted time], 2020 about [redacted name]. The report was conducted as part of the investigation against Alaa M. and focused on the relationship between [redacted name] and Alaa M. A scan of the report was shown to the parties of the proceedings and projected via screens to the public audience.

According to the report, [redacted name] was born on [redacted time] in [redacted location], Syria. He studied medicine in the same city and worked in an unknown hospital there. [Redacted name] applied for a visa in Germany to receive further education and to become a plastic surgeon. He later received a blue card. The report concluded that [redacted name] and M. had, at least for a certain amount of time, a trusting relationship. They lived together in [redacted location], Germany for at least one month in [redacted time] and [redacted time] 2017. M. was also the reference person for [redacted name]'s visa application in Germany. Moreover, they texted each other regularly on personal matters and met up in person. They also sent each other articles and social media posts about the allegations against M., which they only briefly discussed. In one message, Alaa M. told [redacted name] he was the only person he confided in and would never lie to him.

The proceedings were adjourned at 11:45 AM.

The next trial day will be on July 15, 2024, at 10:00 AM.

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