Operation jump / Kriminalistik

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Operation jump is the name for a large-scale police operation of the Austrian police in the years 1999 and 2000 in the fight against the organized drug trade. In the course of this operation numerous humans of African origin were arrested, accused of and condemned partly validly. The access to 27. May 1999 as approximately 850 policemen Austria far dwellings and refugee homes of accused one of stormed, preceded a longer Observation, with which among other things also for the first time "the large wire-tapping was used ".

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Operation jump

Operation jump was the largest kriminalpolizeiliche action in Austria in the second republic. Altogether 127 persons were arrested. Approximately a third of the arresting had to be released after short time again. Some however because of illegal stay were arrested and pushed away in the consequence from Austria. A connection with the operation jump is obvious. A part of the media, all in front reported the new crowns newspaper of a success of the police in the fight against the organized criminality, been never there: "With the help of the first large wire-tapping succeeded arresting the Bosse of an internationally acting Nigerian drug ring ". Above all the Viennese city newspaper Falter (newspaper) and some publications of anti-racistic activists criticized the police action immediately after their becoming known as racistic. To mark it is in the connection with the fact that the optical and acoustic monitoring (=Lauschangriff), used in this operation, was only in sample.

The procedures against approximately 100 African developed to one of the largest law procedures of Austrian postwar history. Nearly all accused was condemned. The entire punishing extent all condemning together amounts to several hundred years detention.

Points of criticism at the procedures

The methods used by police and law did not only cause displeasure at human right organizations. Above all the Fairness of the procedure is questioned.

It is criticized among other things the bad quality of the acoustic and optical recordings which led to the fact that persons on the photographs are to be identified only with difficulty. Also the allocation of the voices to the persons on the video photographs turned out as problematic. So it could be proven in the last open procedure by experts that the allocation of a voice to the accused concerned on the photographs was not clearly possible. The independent court followed in this point of the line of the defense and rejected the allocation of the voices met by public prosecutor's office and police.

In the procedure some principal witnesses were consulted. These witnesses, who loaded a majority of the accused African, stepped however disguise and anonymizate up. They were in such a way dressed that their faces were covered by dark motorcycle helmets and ski hoods. Also particulars of these witnesses were not abandoned in relation to the defense. Was justified this to date not dagewesene cross-examination of witnesses with the risk for the witnesses, who would have to be afraid because of their statements for its life. This kind of the witness hearing meanwhile by the highest Court of Justice as inadmissible were found. Some questions of the defense were rejected for the protection of the witnesses by the judge. A principal witness recalled later in the course of the turning work to the documentary film of shoemaker and Sindelgruber to the operation jumps his statement.

Also the role the interpreter, Douglas Idehen and its translation the material be the criticism expose. Since the majority of the accused was to be heard on the photographs in its native language Ibo, a translator had to be consulted. In the course of the last procedures, in which a second translator was consulted, it turned out that several passages had been wrongly translated by the first interpreter. The moreover passages were translated not word by word only in a general manner and, how it would be usual. Also the allocation of the voices made the interpreter, although in the last procedure an appropriate expert at least with the last accused because of the bad quality of the photographs could not do this. The translator was likewise anonymizated like the principal witnesses in the process. Questions of the defense to the translation were likewise rejected from protection for the witness by the court. Thus it was to be examined the defense not possibly its qualification. The translations and allocations of the voices were consulted however in the procedures as important basis for the indictment. The moreover one this translator was sworn in neither nor pointed out that a wrong statement or a wrong translation is punishable.

For indignation with the condemned ones, as well as their lawyers and critics of the procedures the following passage in several grounds ensured: "Sales of one no longer ascertainable, anyhow however large quantity heroin and cocaine, to unknown user remained ".

The procedures approximately around this police action and process-background by Angelika shoemaker and Tristan the Sindelgruber see homepage of the film "operation documentarily filmed jump". Premiere of the documentary film "operation jump" was on 23 September 2005 in cinemas in Vienna and Graz.

Law minister Karin Gastinger and interior minister Liese Prokop delivered in this connection only knappe comments and made their further proceeding dependent on the exit of still pending criminal procedures this group of topics.

Drogenbosse, smallcriminal or law

Obiora C-Ik Ofoedu

Also the man of letters and political activist Obiora C-Ik Ofoedu originating from Nigeria in the course of the "operation jump" arrested. First Ofoedu was acted due to police information to the media as Drogenboss. Charles Ofoedu was part of the platform for a world without racingism. After its Enthaftung after 3 months in remand, he continued to work in the platform. Ofoedu was condemned in the year 2000 finally validly because of money laundering - it had transferred money, which originates according to the court decision from drug trade for compatriots -. For all different it to the load the public prosecutor's office an accusation originally did not raise put crime, and/or it of it freely was spoken and attaches for 3 months taken in thrust detention, after the stranger police had imposed a 10-year old ban on residence. Its it processed experiences with the Austrian law in the book "morning-grey". The reproach, Ofoedu is the head of an internationally acting drug ring, had the law fall to let. Already immediately after its arrest the opinion prevailed in the platform that Charles for political reasons should be designed to the Drogenboss. Ofoedu is six years after the entry into force of a ban on residence for the entire Schengenraum further illegaly in Austria.

Emmanuel Chukwujekwu

Also Chukwujekwu was presented 1999 as Drogenboss. After he was therefore condemned in first instance to 9 years detention, an acquietal took place in the second instance. The highest Court of Justice main header the judgements and the case was referred the first instance. At the end of December 2005 Chukwujekwu, after he had spent nearly 4 years and 9 months in remand, in first instance to exactly 4 years and 9 months detention one condemned. In opinion of the court Chukwujekwu could be transferred now as drug packmen. This judgement is not valid, it plea of nullity was brought in.

Comments on the operation jumping processes

Emmanuel Chukwujekwu in expenditure for March 2004 of the Augustin: It was not a war against drugs, it was a war against the Black Community in Vienna" Inconceivably that happens such a thing in a civilized country such as Austria.
Peter Pilz (Austrian national council delegates) on 30 December 2005 on its homepage: " Assume I that with "the proofs "of the operation jump guilty ones and innocent ones were condemned. " A similar process against Russian Mafiosi would have ended in a Fiasko. " international point lawyers "the proofs "in air would have torn up. Police and public prosecutor's office would have gone in a sump of the ridiculousness under. The of the Austrian constitutional state would have received a devastating lesson. "
Max Edelbacher, leading Kriminalbeamter as result for operation jump: " The applied methods were not" the result are successful not from lasting importance. Larger Drogenbosse could not be arrested" nowadays pursues the police another strategy, and concentrates on the pursuit of the small street traders"
Karin Gastinger (law minister) in the answer on a parliamentary request on 08 December 2005, BMJ-Pr7000/0088-Pr 1/2005: " Of the and inconsistencies represented in the film went" the documentary film from all present ones were ambivalent judged around a purely legal evaluation. If procedure results on wrong translations and testimonies construct, this stirs up naturally doubts whether the right identification was applicable. On the other hand it is a deficiency of this documentation that the safety and accusation authorities did not come to word, around a balanced representation to reach" instructions of the BMJ is applicable only with kontroversiellen points of view, which are not present within the range of the procedure complex in speech however.