Date: 6/6/08
12:43 PM From: Ingrid To: zgrams@zgrams.zundelsite.org Copy: Subject: An Update
from Political Prisoner, Ernst Zundel
--
To my
Zundelsite Readers -
Here is a
slightly edited update about Ernst's legal situation in Mannheim, written to a
German couple in Canada, who kindly sent me a typed copy for our archives.
I should also
add that as of June 2, 2008, we have filed extensive papers in the federal
court in Knoxville asserting our right to continue litigating Ernst's case in
the United States that will focus heavily on his political kidnapping aspects -
a focus that has been denied us so far.
I am excited
about this new front because we are in possession of some pretty devastating
documents obtained through various Freedom of Information Acts in three
countries that show a web of political coordination - and shenanigans in this
international manhunt for one pacifist activist that staggers the imagination!
My readers and,
hopefully, the media will hear about that in a few weeks!
[START]
Ernst Zundel,
JVA Mannheim, Herzogenriedstr.111 68169 Mannheim
Dear [NAMES
DELETED]
I want to thank
you for the birthday card, the E 5.00 and the stamps you enclosed for me. A
word of caution! The [greeting card] you sent had elaborate foam pads behind
the actual image to give it a 3-D feeling. Although it is nice, it was
suspicious even to the Canadian Postal authorities - it was bulgey and it was
held back, opened and examined in Toronto already - and thus received "Special
Handling Attention", which delayed it for that reason.
Once it arrived
here in prison, it again caused suspicion for the same reason, because it could
contain dope or worse. Remember they had the same fears in Canada at Toronto
West and did not let me have some cards. So keep that in mind, please, and let
our friends know that these nice, expensive cards cause problems for people in
prisons.
Plain cards,
and even some photocopies are now allowed, even the odd booklet. They do not
allow me full size books - they go to the "Asservaten Kammer" and are
kept there till I am released on 1. March 2010, unless of course higher courts
overturn the verdicts etc. of lower courts. In my opinion - after the kind of
"quality" of Justice I have seen and hear of every day from other
prisoners - the Germans have a long way to go before they even come near
Anglo-Saxon legal traditions and treatments of people in courts. Only
Ignoramuses about the situation here and Germanophiles cannot see what ails
this system.
They have no
verbatim/word for word transcripts in criminal trials, which invites - no, it
guarantees! - abuses and injustices. The German system of Criminal Justice can
not recover its reputation of fairness or procedural correctness until they
restore what was ROUTINE in Germany and is still routine in Canadian, American
and British justice [systems] for centuries!!! The Inquisition had verbatim
transcripts, even Nuremberg Tribunals had transcripts - although there,
testimony could be expunged from the record, which was done for instance in
Streichers case where, incredibly, the Streicher Defense-Attorney agreed to
have important testimony about Streichers torture stricken from the record at
the request of the prosecutors - with the consent of the presiding judges!
Every regime
since before Bismarck, including the Weimar Republic and even the Third Reich
[and what followed] had verbatim transcripts till 1972 - then it was done away
with in criminal proceedings, but not in civil proceedings - apparently. The reason?
"To make the court more efficient" - a lie of course. I suppose civil
suits can remain inefficient?
Even Judge
Blais in Toronto was astonished when I mentioned the "no transcript"
situation. But who is aware of these "details of history" as Jean Marie
Le Pen would call them? No one!
But now for the
actual legal situation on the ground here. -
I still am
battling for my mail from 2005, 2006. 2007. There are approximately 1500 pieces
of mail in boxes that have not been released to me. I negotiated a release-deal-method
with officials - instead, after releasing some postcards and short letters -
suddenly 185 letters were seized that were 2 to 3 years old. The reason for the
seizure? People wrote me letters and cards that contained compliments, calling for
me to hang in there etc.! - That, it was felt, was opposed to the aim of my
conviction!
Remember, I am
still subject to spot censorship!
I was also
ruled ineligible for transfer to the pensioners' prison in Singen and was
ordered to serve my whole time - that means till March 1, 2010 - here in
Mannheim. The reasons? They were amazingly frank about it. The Singen Facility
would allow me to live in a much more relaxed and open atmosphere, with
frequent trips into town to shop, etc. Media people would seek me out, and that
would result in articles - and that, in turn, would bring unrest into the
institution, made up of mostly elderly people, all of whom would have suffered
under the old regime. Thus, for the good of the other inmates, I would have to
be kept here, even though by age 62 I was to be entitled to serve my time in an
"Altenknast".
It was decided
by the prison administration's resident jurist - that I would get no relaxation
of conditions - but would have to serve my time in full, ohne "Freigang",
which is when one gets to go into town in the presence of uniformed (?) prison
officials. Instead I would serve my time, locked up in prison.
I have hired a
new woman lawyer. She is a specialist in Prison Rights - and has now submitted
these decisions to the local "Strafvollstreckungskammer" - which has
a reputation to see things the prisons and the convicting judges do - as a
rule. That means we will have to appeal that "3 rulings package" to
the Oberlandsgericht Karlsruhe. All that of course takes time. That is the aim
of all this chicanery, for every day I am forced to spend in the
"non-relaxed" atmosphere - [the opposite of what] I am entitled to by
age and tradition - means what in America is known as cruel and unusual
punishment. Should the OLG Karlsruhe decide against me, then I could appeal it
to the Bundesgerichthof and the Bundesverfassungsgericht.
[Comment: The
first instance has already turned down Ernst's appeal...]
All these legal
moves take their time because the Courts are busy, dockets are full. Add this
to the legal fees and especially the court costs, which are steep here and have
been regularly assessed against me - for instance a 1 1-2 pge. decision,
naturally against me, at E 1200.00 just for this one sheet of paper that had to
be paid "sofort" [immediately]. My court costs for the Mannheimer
Verfahren were assessed at E 59,829.00. To this must be added the payments for
legal fees for my own "Wahl-Anwalte" (chosen Solicitors) like Rieger,
Dr. Schaller, Sylvia Stolz, R.A. Bock and Gisa Pahl in Hamburg, and now this
new Mannheim specialist lawyer. These costs, too, had to be paid at once.
[Ingrid and I are] paying off these horrendous costs in installments.
Dr. Schaller
challenged the "non-counting" of my two years and one month in Canadas
Guantanamo North- (Toronto West and Thorold), with the local
"Staatsanwaltschaft-Strafvollstreckungskammer". They ruled that the
two years would not be counted, as the lower court had decided last year
already. We challenged that with the appeal court
(Oberlandesgericht-Karlsruhe). They, too, ruled against me - the two years
would not be counted.
Now I have to
decide if [we] can raise the money to go on to the Bundesgerichtshof and then
the Bundesverfassungsgericht - and of course for the legal fees for my lawyers.
And, finally,
one of the most important legal moves was to submit "eine Beschwerde"
(a complaint) an appeal for review and redress with the European Court of Human
Rights in Strassbourg. That was one hell of a document to prepare, and I had to
wrestle and argue with my own lawyers, to expand the document to the events of
my kidnapping and expulsion first from the US, then explain the reasons for the
arrest and proceedings in Canada before Blais - and how all this came about.
Luckily we gained access to very important documents during the Mannheim and
the American proceedings that showed E-Mails and lots of faxes on official
letterheads by the highest authorities in America, Germany and Canada,
documenting and detailing at least some aspects of this "Operation
Atlantik" as the Germans called the hunt for my capture in documents going
way back to the 1990s. Dr. Schaller's document finally condensed all this down
to 63 pages - and for the first time explained it more or less coherently,
given the constraints and format of these Strasburg proceedings.
The title of
the documents is:
"Ernst
Zundel gegen BRD". The date it was submitted was May 8, 2008. All that
work, legal research, preparation etc. have to be paid.
[END]
Comment: Our
readers need to understand that all the bills are handled and paid by me, his
wife, since of course Ernst is prevented from keeping such regular, emotionally
and time-consuming fundraising efforts going fro inside his cell.
If you would
like to be put on our mailing list for updates or by contributing to our
efforts to keep this case before the courts and media, please write to:
Ingrid Zundel
3152 Parkway, 13-109 Pigeon Forge, TN 37863 USA
Can you send
money to Ernst directly to help him pay for stamps, phone calls, and the
occasional "shopping trip" to the prison store?
Yes, in small
amounts. Ernst is allowed to receive small bills in cash in Euro or US$ from
his friends and supporters. Please don't send any checks or money orders to
him, especially from countries other than Germany. Ernst cannot deposit or cash
them.
His address is:
Ernst Zundel
JVA Mannheim Herzogenried Strasse 111 68169 Mannheim Germany
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