Defendants were able to escape from a Bavarian court twice within a few weeks. The Ministry of Justice would like to make improvements so that this does not happen again. The first changes have already been made.
Munich (dpa / lby) – After the escape of the accused from two Bavarian courts, the Ministry of Justice has begun to review the security concepts of all courts in the Free State. In Regensburg and Coburg, the incidents have already had consequences.
All 99 ordinary courts in Bavaria should submit their local security concepts to the ministry by last Friday. After receipt, these would be checked as soon as possible, said a spokesman for the ministry in Munich. Security gaps are unacceptable. During the security check, special attention is paid to the meeting rooms for lawyers and their clients and to the tying up of the accused in the building.
A convicted murderer fled the Regensburg district court during a meeting with his lawyer in early January. The 40-year-old was not tied up at the time and escaped through an unsecured window of a meeting room. A 47-year-old managed to escape from the Coburg district court on Monday last week. The man was being taken to the toilet without restraints when he suddenly ran, smashed open a window of a witness lounge and escaped.
According to the Bavarian Justice Union (BJG), the police’s lack of local knowledge also played a decisive role in the successful escape attempts. At the courts in Munich, Nuremberg and Augsburg, according to the ministry, prison officers are responsible for presenting the accused – at all other locations the police.
In order to increase security in the courts, according to the BJG state chairman Hans-Joachim Freytag, the presentation of the accused and prisoners should be transferred entirely to the prison guards in the courts in the future. This would bind staff in the judiciary and free up the police and would be at least cost-neutral for the Free State, said Freytag.
Improvements have already been made at the district and district court in Regensburg after the defendant fled: A spokesman for the district court announced that a spokesman for the district court said that the suspects who arrive at the court tied up must always remain in the building.
At the Coburg district court, cooperation with the police should be intensified after the incident, according to a spokesman. Possible structural changes would still be checked – for example, whether windows will be secured differently in the future. In other courts, such as the criminal justice center in Munich, there is no reason for major changes. The security concept is constantly being checked and readjusted, said a spokesman for the local higher regional court.
The fugitive from Regensburg was caught by the police after several days in France. After his extradition, he is again in custody in Bavaria. The escape of the man from Coburg ended the next day with an arrest. Both men were sentenced in absentia to prison terms.
