A report by Dr. Reiner Fuellmich on his prison conditions in the Göttingen high-security prison Rosdorf, in response to the author Kerstin Heusinger, Germany correspondent of the French-language online publication BAM! With exclusive photos from the courtroom and sketches:

7:00 am Court Hearing for the Civil Rights Activist and Lawyer Dr. Reiner Fuellmich

Heavily armed officers with pistols and submachine guns equipped with bulletproof vests welcome me. They try to convince me to put on a bulletproof vest, which I consistently refuse. They then have me sign a waiver that releases them from liability if I am injured or killed by gunfire.

One of the officers searches my body and then forces me to kneel on a stool as he does every time while he puts shackles on me.

He ties a wide leather belt around my waist and then puts handcuffs on me, which are attached to the belt with chains, which in turn are secured with a large padlock.

The ankle shackles force me to take very small steps, which makes it difficult to get in and out of the transport vehicle. If I stumbled like this, I wouldn’t be able to catch my fall and would probably break my wrists.

Prison officials told me that they had never seen a defendant be held in pre-trial detention for more than 11 months for a simple offence (and not for a serious crime or an act of terrorism), held in solitary confinement and, most importantly, brought to court hearings handcuffed and shackled.

In the court, I was taken to the basement, to a tiled cell with a simple wooden bench, the basement is cynically called “the cellar.” Renewed body search. Then I have to wait until I am led into the courtroom in handcuffs. Every time the trial is interrupted, I am handcuffed again and taken “to the basement” again.

Every time I returned from the court, I was completely stripped in a transit room to conduct a thorough body search.

Harassment, Humiliation, Punishment

Mr. D., the deputy director in charge of pre-trial detention, ordered my complete isolation on the grounds that my legal advice to other detainees could incite them to revolt.

Rosdorf prison is divided into two areas: criminal detention (400 inmates) and pre-trial detention (80 inmates), where I have been imprisoned since 13 October 2023.

The pre-trial detainees are spread over 4 levels. Those who are considered particularly dangerous or at risk will be isolated at level A0, where security will be increased and additional restrictions will be imposed. I was accommodated there.

Like the other inmates of level A0, I am strictly forbidden to speak to any other inmate.

For 11 months I have had no internet access, no computer and no cell phone. I’m only allowed to watch TV. My only contact with the outside world is my lawyer and the 3 hours per month for visits or phone calls with my family. Yes, a total of 3 hours per month.

My isolation goes so far that even my daily walk in the yard has to be done alone. This hour-long walk will be suspended if I am caught communicating with another inmate, even if it is only a hand signal. Yes, if I exchange a greeting with a fellow inmate through the bars of a window, even if I just nod my head – he and I will be punished immediately.

All disciplinary measures will be imposed without giving reasons and without the possibility of appeal.

Everyone is Guilty!

The treatment of pre-trial detainees is particularly poor and borders on torture. Mr. D., who manages the pre-trial detention and also works as a social worker, makes no secret of his convictions: He believes that you are guilty if you are in pre-trial detention.

His disregard for the presumption of innocence is the main reason for my placement in solitary confinement.

He committed serious and intentional breaches of duty, which I witnessed. These violations were covered up by the prison management. With two exceptions, the security officers carry out the orders they receive without remorse, like robots.

On 8 August 2024, I asked for an interview with the deputy director of the prison. I told her that during my absence for the trials, personal belongings and documents had disappeared from my cell. The cells are usually searched regularly according to strict rules. These thefts occurred outside of the official inspections that are recorded.

Persecution: Dr. Reiner Fuellmich Refers to the Redzep Case

The full seriousness of the situation is shown in the attacks on a pre-trial detainee, Kevin Redzep, who was seriously injured. He allowed me to publish his name and story. He is from Montenegro and although he is intelligent and speaks several languages, he cannot read or write German fluently. He was placed in a ward where there were several violent inmates or who were accused of premeditated murder. He was called a “gypsy” by his fellow prisoners, threatened and asked Mr. D. for help, who refused to take him to the endangered prisoners. The next day, Kevin Redzep was attacked by three fellow inmates while walking. He was so badly injured in the head with a glass bottle that the zygomatic bone above his left eye was crushed and his eyesight was endangered.

On 9 July 2024, Kevin Redzep had to undergo surgery before returning to Rosdorf prison before recovering. There was another physical altercation with five or six prison officers, who threw him to the ground and injured him again in the head. Mr. D. then ordered the isolation of Kevin Redzep, who was already severely traumatised.

Kevin Redzep, who wanted to sue Mr. D, the penitentiary and the state of Lower Saxony for bodily harm, asked me for help. When Mr. D. learned that I had advised this prisoner and found him a lawyer, Kevin Redzep disappeared. It is believed that he was transferred to another prison. Since then, lawyer Wörmer, my lawyer, has been trying in vain to find him, hoping that he is still alive.

Ray of Hope

Despite the disciplinary sanctions they face, the pre-trial detainees show solidarity with me. They encourage me. For example, they call out to me: “Don’t give up, keep going.”

Some prison officials have seen through the hoax with the pandemic and know that my trial is a sham justice orchestrated by the intelligence services. They let me know that and wish me a good outcome.

What helps me the most is the enormous support of the international public.

I receive a large number of letters that are not even read by the prison administration. I read all the letters and am infinitely touched by the affection they show. I try to answer as far as I can.

Sometimes I see the vigils and the people greeting me as I sit in the transport vehicle to the court.

I feel the remarkably strong connection to all those who support me. It is this connection that allows us to overcome adversity together.

Twice a week, I have to go to the medical service to be examined because I refused to take blood. I have argued that any medical act, especially any invasive medical act, constitutes a violation of physical integrity if the patient does not voluntarily give consent. I am therefore regularly examined because a prisoner suffering from tuberculosis could possibly have infected people with whom he came into contact.

One of the prison’s doctors expressed his sympathy for my work. He also explained to me that the medical staff felt that the health of many detainees was incompatible with detention. However, the prison management prefers to ignore this fact.

Having personally seen what happens in pre-trial detention – the suspension of the fundamental rights of the accused, their difficulties in gaining access to a defence that really cares about their fate – I am convinced that prisons only benefit those who profit from them, with pre-trial detention being more lucrative than post-trial detention.

I have not met any defendant whom I would describe as “evil.” I have met many, really many pre-trial detainees who seem innocent to me, or who need therapeutic treatment above all, as a prison doctor admitted.

If we didn’t need some prisons for some sociopaths, for example, for those responsible for the pandemic, the wars, the massacres like in Gaza and for the corrupt people of the system, I would be in favour of the abolition of prisons.

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Via https://expose-news.com/2024/10/11/persecution-in-prison-by-dr-reiner-fuellmich/