The news caused a stir. According to BR and Nuremberg News The authorities were aware that the 47-year-old, who had fled from the Coburg district court a week and a half ago, was listed as a “suspected Islamist”. Accordingly, he had “already been noticed in the past” and “classified internally as a security concern”.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, the background – which is not apparent from the reports – may have been an incident from the Kronach prison. The 47-year-old once said there that his religion was the “only law” that was “valid for him”. As a result, the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution was asked, which did not know of any other such incidents to report. As a result, a security note was written at the lowest level (“suspicion of Islamism”), which did not result in an increased willingness to flee. This was reported to the officials who were supposed to be watching the detainee during the trial. The 47-year-old climbed out of a court window on Shrove Monday and was arrested a day later. He was sentenced in absentia to prison for a sex offense. The judgment is not final.
Christian Barthelmes, the 47-year-old’s defense attorney, was “completely surprised” by the reports. The man was described as “strictly religious” by relatives. However, the files available to him revealed “not even a rudimentary” potential Islamism. The 47-year-old had since been released from custody after witnesses for the prosecution had withdrawn their statements. At that point at the latest, according to Barthelme, the public prosecutor’s office would have resorted to the “Islamism” argument – if it were true – in order to prevent this.
But this did not happen. The defense attorney now criticizes that his client sees himself exposed to serious suspicion on an unclear basis. It cannot be ruled out that this could have “drastic consequences” for his whereabouts in the JVA.
The public prosecutor initially only wanted to comment on the circumstances on Thursday. However, she then announced that she had been informed about the “suspicion of Islamism” classification. However, the allegation of serious sexual abuse of children alone was decisive for the pre-trial detention. In view of the severity of the allegations, an increased willingness to flee was assumed.
Lawyer Barthelmes also describes the escape scene differently than official bodies have done. According to the lawyer, he himself asked for a break. The 47-year-old, who was untied during the hearing, remained in the courtroom. Actually, the shackles should have been put back on during this time. The accused was only “one and a half meters away” from one of the room exits. The officials who were supposed to be guarding him, on the other hand, were “about ten meters away”. From the point of view of the defender, a “personal failure” of the officials.
According to the Coburg district court, it knew nothing about any risk assessment of the 47-year-old. The police are doing the same thing, but nothing like that was there. After the 47-year-old escaped from a window, one is now thinking about “concrete structural changes”.