It was a surprise when, on the fifth day of the trial for the theft of jewels in the Dresden Green Vault, one of the accused suddenly announced a personal statement.

So far, the six men, who were all born in Berlin in the 1990s, had not commented on the allegations of serious gang theft and serious arson.

On Tuesday afternoon, the defense attorney for 28-year-old Rabieh Remo, who is the only one of the defendants from the notorious Berlin Remmo clan to have his last name written with just an M, surprisingly read a statement on behalf of his client, according to which he was preparing, but not was involved in the execution of the crime.

Stephen Locke

Correspondent for Saxony and Thuringia based in Dresden.

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Accordingly, one of the perpetrators, whom Remo did not name, approached him four days before the theft and asked if he wanted to take part in the burglary in the Green Vault.

There was talk of a large prey to be expected, which is why he initially got involved.

In addition, the plan had been worked out long ago.

It was his job to get a vehicle to prepare for the crime, which he then drove to Dresden with the perpetrators.

There, on one of the days before the burglary, he and two other perpetrators climbed over the wall to the castle, on the ground floor of which the historical treasury is located.

The wrought-iron protective grille had already been sawn at the time, but had been temporarily reinserted, the statement said.

He and some of the other perpetrators then checked visibility and escape options at the corner window, which the perpetrators later used to get into the interior.

Retreat after police control

On the night of the crime from November 24th to 25th, 2019, Remo got into one of the later escape vehicles with the other perpetrators in Berlin in order to drive to Dresden.

However, after a police check in the capital, during which the burglary tools were also found in the trunk, he got frustrated.

He did not consider the control to be a coincidence and considered the project to have been blown, the statement said.

There was then a larger discussion with the other perpetrators, at the end of which Remo said goodbye.

His DNA traces were found in the getaway vehicle.

But he himself stayed in Berlin on the night of the crime, stayed with his parents and went to school the next morning.

As his lawyer read the statement, Remo was visibly nervous.

His step apparently came as a surprise to the other defendants as well.

They then consulted intensively with their lawyers.

So far, none of the other suspects have commented on the allegations.

During the burglary a good two years ago, around two dozen irreplaceable pieces of jewelry from three baroque jewelry sets from the 18th century were stolen.

On Tuesday morning, employees of the Dresden State Art Collections stated that these art treasures are unique in the world today.

Similar sets still existed at the French court, but they were torn apart by inheritance and are now incomplete.

At the same time, a single listing of the losses caused by the theft made it clear how brutally the perpetrators had acted.

They had destroyed the display case with 58 ax blows in one minute and then snatched as many pieces of jewelry as possible.

Apparently they hadn't expected that the exhibits would be attached to the supports with fishing line.

So it happened that several pieces of jewelry were torn, entire ensembles were destroyed and individual stones were broken from their settings.

From some of the exhibits, fragments were left behind in the truest sense of the word.

In total, the perpetrators stole art treasures with more than 4,300 diamonds.

So far there is no trace of the loot.

Scene connoisseurs assume that the stones have been broken out of the works of art and sold on the black market long ago.