EOne initiative has made new allegations against Dessau police officers in the Jürgen Rose case and filed a murder complaint with the Federal Prosecutor General. It was concluded that at least four police officers on the night shift had physically abused Rose, said Nadine Saeed from the “Recherche Zentrum” initiative at a press conference on Thursday in Berlin. The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed receipt of the complaint to the FAZ. When asked by the German Press Agency, the Dessau police did not want to comment on the allegations.
Rose died of severe internal injuries on December 8, 1997, after he was found helpless in front of a building near the police station. The previous evening he had been in police custody for drink driving. The “Research Center” criticized that the death has not yet been clarified. The investigation was last closed in 2014 without any results.
The initiative bases its complaint, among other things, on a report by the British written forensic expert John Welch, who analyzed the police situation film in which incidents during the shift are recorded. “It is the central document that provides the chronology around December 7th and 8th, 1997 in the Dessau police station,” said Luke Harrow from the “Recherche Zentrum”.
Welch's findings would provide expert evidence that the investigation file was manipulated – “in our opinion with the intention of misrepresenting the events of the evening in order to divert suspicion from the police officers allegedly involved,” said Harrow.
According to its own information, the “Research Center” studied files and conducted interviews with those involved, including a forensic doctor. This ruled out that the place where the injured Rose was found was also the crime scene. She also noticed signs of violence on Rose's body that could have come from batons.
It is not the only death that caused a stir in the Dessau police station. The death of Oury Jalloh made headlines across the country. In 2005, his body burned after a fire in his cell. A third case from 2002 remains unsolved to this day. According to the “Research Center”, there were personnel overlaps among the officers on duty.