[Skybird]

Der Tagesspiegel:

----------------------

After a raid on Berlin's major brothel "Artemis", the state of Berlin must pay damages to the two operators. This was decided by the Berlin Court of Appeal on Tuesday in the appeal process and awarded the two plaintiffs 50,000 euros each plus interest. The interest would amount to 10,941 euros if paid immediately.

The background to the case are statements made by the public prosecutor's office at a press conference in April 2016, some of which were inaccurate and prejudicial, the court reasoned. Among other things, the authority had spoken of links to organized crime. However, the accusations had collapsed, and an indictment was not admitted in 2018. The judicial administration could have prevented the verdict - with a donation of 25,000 euros to the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef).

According to the court, the accusations made by the public prosecutor's office at the press conference, such as the assignment of the "Artemis" operators to organized crime, were not covered by the results of the investigation. The prosecution had fundamentally violated the principle of the presumption of innocence. The comparison with the gangster boss Al Capone was inadmissible. This had created the impression of massive criminal acts.

The Kammergericht justified the amount of compensation by the fact that representatives of the state of Berlin had again and in depth violated the rights of the "Artemis" operators in the trial and had not been prepared to correct the situation. "The state of Berlin missed the chance to admit the obvious and serious mistakes of the public prosecutor's office in the context of a settlement," said Artemis lawyer Ben M. Irle. The refusal to distance itself from serious breaches of official duty is "testimony to a staggering ignorance as well as a lack of displayed self-reflection," Irle said. "Such behavior by the administration of justice, characterized by stubbornness and complacency, is an alarm signal for the rule of law."

The responsible civil chamber had suggested a settlement to the state of Berlin after long negotiations in the appeal proceedings. However, the Senate judicial administration had not responded to this. The background to the dispute is a raid in April 2016 with hundreds of police officers, customs investigators and prosecutors in the brothel. Afterwards, the public prosecutor's office had spoken of links to organized crime, among other things. But the accusations fell apart.

After the Berlin Regional Court refused to admit the prosecution's charges at the end of 2018, the brothel's two operators sued. They are claiming damages of at least 200,000 euros and demand an apology. In recent months, the Superior Court had made it clear that mistakes had been made on the part of the state - and that an apology, including compensation, was in order. The court suggested paying 25,000 euros to Unicef - instead of paying damages to the brothel operators.

The Senate Judicial Administration had already announced in advance: "A decision by the Kammergericht in this matter will be carefully reviewed by the SenJustVA to see whether the relevant appeal will be filed. If prospects of success are seen here, the SenJustVA will of course take action against any judgment of the Kammergericht." Because the Kammergericht did not allow an appeal on the grounds that the case was not of fundamental importance, the hurdles are even higher. The judicial administration would have to file a non-admission appeal. The operators are currently fighting with the district office before the administrative court over a planned second "Laufhaus" of Artemis.
-----------------------