Armin Kurtovic lost his son in the racist attack in Hanau. More than four years later, he continues to fight for justice.
“This can only be called a failure of the State” Photo: Michael Schick/imago
Taz: Mr Kurtovic, four years after the racist attack in Hanau in which your son Hamza and eight others were murdered by a right-wing terrorist, you continue to demand consequences for those responsible. They have also started a fundraising campaign for this purpose. How are you?
Armin Kurtovic: We arrived just before the halfway mark. The goal is 85 thousand euros, currently we have together almost 40,000 euros. So something is still missing.
So that you need the money?
For legal fees, court costs and travel expenses. I have done all the work with my own resources for the last few years. I can't do that anymore. We still have a long way to go.
The crime: On February 19, 2020, Tobias R., 43, murdered nine people of immigrant origin in three bars and a kiosk in Hanau. Several people were injured in the attack, some of them seriously. He then killed his mother and himself, after previously revealing paranoia and racist ideas in a video and in letters to authorities.
Open questions: Last year, a commission of inquiry in the Hessian state parliament addressed open questions repeatedly raised by victims' relatives. For example, it is not clear why the perpetrator legally possessed weapons despite his paranoid illness and extremist attitude and why the police emergency number 110 could not be reached on the night of the crime. It is also unclear why the emergency exit to one of the bars was closed. (taz)
Which?
We will now initiate legal enforcement proceedings. We want to force the prosecutor to reopen the investigation. For example, several witnesses who could provide information about the Arena Bar's emergency exit and why it was apparently closed by police order were not heard from.
Are you disappointed with the city of Hanau?
I still live in the same apartment as before the attack. I look at the perpetrator's house every day, it's very stressful. I couldn't get another apartment in the city. I didn't receive anything from the city. However, the mayor and the city of Hanau are jointly responsible for what happened and to this day do not admit it.
Until they have done that, will you not rest?
The city and the mayor take advantage of the day of the attack, February 19, with all the commemorative events. The mayor invites 200 people to visit my son's grave. Against my will! Are you affected? If he was as interested in the clarification as he was in the spectacle it put on, then he would apply the consequences. He even called for the resignation of Hesse's Interior Minister Peter Beuth. But when he himself was criticized, he remained silent. He is partly responsible for the Arena Bar's emergency exit being closed. This can only be called a state failure. Every single agency involved failed. This is also stated in the final report of the investigation committee.
W.ring Has this committee shown no consequences?
I wonder the same thing. Apparently, he was just there to drag things out and get political mileage out of the episode. In the end, no one drew conclusions or took responsibility.
Why not?
The city of Hanau and the police only want to minimize the damage. Exactly one year ago I met in Wiesbaden with the current Prime Minister of Hesse, Boris Rhein. He invited my family. I presented him with the new findings and evidence. He was angry and had promised me it would be independently investigated. After all, the Hessian authorities cannot investigate themselves. But he broke his promise and nothing happened. When you look back, when it comes to the NSU terror, for example, the same thing happens. After years of negotiations, the result was more than disappointing for the victims' families, because in the end nothing was clarified. But that cannot be the case. There must be an interest in finding the broken points within the ranks themselves in order to repair them. But you can't fix anything if you don't know what's broken.
They have been fighting for clarifications and consequences for a long time. How far would they go to ensure justice?
See you in Strasbourg! Before the European Court of Human Rights. We will still have to overcome some obstacles, including the Federal Constitutional Court. We hope to have a clarification in Strasbourg at the latest.
And then?
So I hope those responsible finally take responsibility. I don't expect anyone to be hanged. I am only repeating what the parliamentary commission of inquiry has drawn up. For example, the confirmation that the weapons authority had not controlled the murderer. The guy should have never gotten guns! We live here in a constitutional state, at least that's what they taught me in school. We are all equal before the law and human dignity is inviolable. I want to see that now too.
If you want to donate, you can support Armin Kurtovic's campaign on the commonsplace.de platform:
https://commonsplace.de/project/hanau-Klagen