Eva Leitolf

Tram stop, Potsdam, 2006

In the early hours of Easter Sunday 2006 a black German man in Potsdam was injured so seriously with a broken skull that doctors had to put him into an artificial coma for several weeks. The initial investigations gave reason to suspect a racist background to the attack. Shortly beforehand the victim had called his wife, whose voicemail had recorded the words 'dirty nigger'. The Federal Public Prosecutor took charge of the investigation on the grounds that the racist motive could potentially 'affect the internal security of the country'. One of the two suspects arrested was charged with grievous bodily harm, the other with failure to lend assistance. Police discovered rightwing extremist music in the car used by the suspects. Both the accused denied being at the scene of the attack at the time, and two experts failed to identify the recorded voice beyond reasonable doubt as the voice of the accused. Because the charges were largely based on this recording, the suspects were released from remand on 23 May. Three days later the Federal Public Prosecutor also passed responsibility for the investigation back to the Potsdam state prosecutor, because the racist statements made by the suspects were not directly connected with the crime. The victim, who was joint plaintiff in the case, joined the other parties in calling for an acquittal, but continued to maintain his conviction that this had been a racist crime. The accused were found not guilty.