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Use in 2016: Accusations collapsed
Photo: Paul Zinken/ dpa
Seven years after a raid on the Artemis brothel, Berlin has apologized to the operators. In addition, the state will pay 250,000 euros in compensation.
"The state of Berlin apologizes for the pre-trial detention and the considerable disadvantages suffered by the then accused as a result of the search, pre-trial detention, the indictment and the statements of the public prosecutor's office," the Senate Justice Department said in a statement. A settlement had been reached before the Court of Appeal, with which the entire legal dispute was concluded. Initially, the »B.Z.« had reported.
Hundreds of police officers, customs investigators and prosecutors searched the Berlin brothel on April 14, 2016. Several suspects had been arrested at the time. After that, the public prosecutor's office had spoken, among other things, of links to organized crime. But the accusations collapsed. At the end of 2018, the Berlin district court did not allow the prosecutor's indictment.
Prejudging statements
The two operators of the brothel then went to court – with success. Last December, the Berlin Court of Appeal ordered the state to pay 100,000 euros in damages. It was about statements made by the public prosecutor's office at a press conference in April 2016, some of which were "culpably contrary to official duty" and prejudicial, exaggerated and luridly formulated, the court reasoned.
Another trial was ongoing: the brothel operators sued for compensation for the time spent in pre-trial detention. According to the Tagesspiegel, the state of Berlin was threatened with a new defeat before the Court of Appeal. The administration of justice relented and a settlement was reached last Tuesday. "The process is thus completed as a whole," said a spokesman.
bbr/dpa