Oury Jalloh: Death in a police jail cell
Nation-wide demonstration on the 1st of April in Dessau

Break the Silence! Against racist state violence, cover-up and impunity! For truth, justice, compensation!

Nationwide Demonstration:
Saturday, 1.April, 2 p.m.
Central Train station Dessau

The Caravan organises a collective bus trip to the demo from Munich.
For participation, send an e-mail to: caravane-munich@zeromail.org

Come to the Munich Information evening about the death of Oury Jalloh: Friday, 24th of March 2006, 8 pm, Kafe Marat, Thalkichnerstr. 104, Entrance II

During this information evening, bus tickets for the trip to Dessau are available!

Oury Jalloh burnt to death in a police jail cell:
Oury Jalloh, a 21 year-old refugee from Sierra Leone died on the 7th of January, 2005, in a police station in Dessau, tied with handcuffs to a fire-proof mattress at his hands and feet. Cause of death: heat shock. The official version: The victim set fire to the mattress with a lighter, caused the mattress to burn thus burning himself. Suicide?

Over one year ago this version provoked a lot of doubts. Since then they have only increased and become more serious. According to the investigators, the fire broke out in the cell around midday. The fire alarm went off on two occasions. Noises and cries of help coming from the acoustically controlled cell were registered but ignored. Supposedly, the supervising police officer turned off the sound of the acoustic system shortly before twelve because he could not understand a telephone conversation. Only when the air-control alarm went off did he go down into the basement where the cell was located. Too late. Oury Jalloh was lying on a burning mattress, his body practically charcoaled. The remains of a lighter were only found in later "investigations".

Biased investigations:
Whereas the investigations are solely focusing on the possibility of suicide, the events remain unclear and the suspects remain free to this day and continue with their work: 13 months following the death of Oury Jalloh there is still no clarity neither as to the circumstances of his death nor who is responsible for it. In spite of massive and publicly known irregularities and contradictions no legal proceedings seem likely. The responsible police and doctor continue their work. In spite of the fact that the State Prosecutor of Dessau has made formal accusations of negligent homicide and bodily harm with fatal consequences, new excuses are nevertheless found to close the case - even to the point of absurdity. Now it is said that the formal complaints lodged by the lawyers in the name of the family are invalid due to the fact that there is not enough evidence to prove whether or not the family of Oury Jalloh is truly his family. Time passes by. Certain crimes are supposed to be forgotten.

Repression against the call for truth and justice:
Now, the person who has most engaged himself for truth about the death of Oury Jalloh, is getting criminalized and persecuted: Mouctar Bah, a friend of Oury Jalloh and representative of his family in Germany- not the people who are responsible for the death of Oury Jalloh! On the 7th of February, the local authorities closed Mouctar?s Telecafe. The official accusation: Mouctar allows people who sell drugs into his store. Nothing about selling or consuming of drugs inside the shop, no proof. But the racist assumption "black skin = drug dealer" seems to be enough. Mouctar Bah's business licence shall be permanently withdrawn- out of "public interest". Meanwhile, Mr. Bah has applied all possible judicial means in order to protect his shop.

The Telecafé was the basis of Mouctar?s financial existence and the meeting place for the Initiative in Memory of Oury Jalloh. It is a place where African people from Dessau and the surroundings meet, talk with each other and their families and can feel a little bit safer than in the streets. There have always been people in Dessau who didn't like this shop. The obvious collaboration of state institutions serves for the denial of any connection between racism, the death of Oury Jalloh and the closure of Mouctar Bah's shop. These incidents, carried out in such a bureaucratic and silent way, clearly show the intention to deny the truth about the death of Oury Jalloh and to break any resistance against such inhuman and undemocratic measures.

Daily racist reality:
Throughout Europe, the reality of refugees and migrants is becoming more and more dramatic each day. Increased persecution and criminalisation characterized the daily experience of non-Europeans in the form of more violence, more police controls, more deportations. In this way, the already existing hate and exclusion of the host countries is strengthened. It is common to speak about the racism of nazis on the streets, yet as usual there is silence regarding the racism within state institutions.

Public Pressure:
Although the press, on several occasions, reported on the racist background in relation to the unclear circumstances of the death of Oury Jalloh and a few initiatives have demanded a complete clarification of the contradictions, the court is until today blocking legal proceedings.

There is a serious need to create sufficient pressure NOW so that there will at least be a hearing.

Stop the impunity of those responsible and the criminalization of innocent people!

We will not get intimidated and we demand:
Truth, Justice, Compensation!!! Against racisms and state violence!!!
Stop police terror against refugees and migrants!!! Break the silence!!!