Green party chancellor candidate Robert Habeck demands clear consequences from Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) after the New Year’s Eve riots and the use of illegal fire bombs. “Who attacks emergency forces, is attacking our state, is attacking all of us. This must be more severely punished” he told Bild am Sonntag.
Especially “sneaky attacks on emergency forces” must have “especially severe penalties” following them. Moreover, there needs to be a response to the strong increase in illegal, life-endangering firework, said Habeck: “I expect the Interior Minister to be seeking solutions here – also with our European neighbors.”
Habeck also appealed to the Union to pass the law on harsher penalties for attacks on rescue forces, which was decided by the previous Ampel government in September, in the Bundestag before the federal election. There needs to be a serious debate and concrete decisions on measures in the Bundestag – “across party lines, despite the election campaign” said Habeck to Bild am Sonntag.
The German Judges’ Association rejected Habeck’s demands. “The calls for stricter penalties as a reaction to the New Year’s Eve violence in Berlin are too short-sighted” said Federal Managing Director Sven Rebehn to the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (Sunday editions).
It does not bring calm if politicians after disturbing crimes promise a hard-handed approach by the rule of law, but in reality do too little for effective prosecution, he complained.
On New Year’s Eve, there were five deaths due to firework and hundreds of injuries, including 30 police officers in Berlin, nationwide. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser had then called for a harsher approach against rioters and urged the Bundestag to pass her bill on stricter penalties for attacks on emergency forces before the new election.
The Judges’ Association chief said: “The Ampel coalition has left the criminal justice system standing in the rain for three years, although it had promised a billion-euro Bund-Länder pact for a strong rule of law.” “It’s not done with big announcements.”
According to the German Judges’ Association, the public prosecutors’ offices have to deal with more than 5.5 million new cases a year, as many as never before. In the end, the prosecutors reported more than 900,000 open cases nationwide, while the number of accused cases has been declining for years, as the public prosecutors’ offices lack around 2,000 investigators.
Therefore, Rebehn demanded a investment pact from the federal government and the states to quickly establish the police, public prosecutors’ offices, and courts with personnel and technology, so they can effectively enforce the laws and conduct swift proceedings. “Not the maximum sentence in the law” he said, “but a swift conviction impresses offenders.