Volker Beck, the president of the German-Israeli Society, is challenging a decision by the Hamburg Regional Court, which refused to allow him to participate as a civil complainant in the trial concerning Iranian assassination plots against him. This development was reported by the newspaper “Tagesspiegel”.
Two men stand before the Regional Court in Hamburg since the end of June, accused of planning the murder of Volker Beck on behalf of Iranian authorities. The court rejected Beck’s request to act as a civil complainant, arguing among other reasons that he did not qualify as having a sufficiently specific need for protective measures. Against this rejection, Beck is now submitting a formal appeal regarding the exclusion from the hearing.
Speaking to the “Tagesspiegel”, Beck admitted, “I am not inclined to public lamentation. But this murder plot was exceptionally-and extremely traumatizing and dramatic-in its impact on my family and also on me.” He added that if this was not considered a significant event, the state could dispense with all future appeals to civil courage.
Beck noted that he was particularly irritated that the court had not even inquired about his feelings, but had simply asserted that “everything was fine for me.” He further stated, “Publicly composing yourself does not mean that you are unaffected by what happened. It is completely incomprehensible to me that this is being interpreted to my disadvantage. Nowhere in the Code of Criminal Procedure does it state that the right to civil complaint is only for whiners.” He also stressed that the incident continues to have very concrete consequences in his daily life. The trial against Ali S. and Tawab M. is scheduled to continue next Tuesday.
