Oury Jalloh

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Oury Jalloh, a 21 year-old refugee from Sierra Leone died on 7 January 2005, in a police station in Dessau, tied with handcuffs to a fire-proof mattress at his hands and feet. The cause of death was officially recorded as heat shock, the police claiming he set fire to the mattress with a lighter, caused the mattress to burn thus burning himself.

Over one year ago this version provoked a lot of doubts. Since then they have only increased and become more serious. According to the investigators, the fire broke out in the cell around midday. The fire alarm went off on two occasions. Noises and cries of help coming from the acoustically controlled cell were registered but ignored. Supposedly, the supervising police officer turned off the sound of the acoustic system shortly before twelve because he could not understand a telephone conversation. Only when the air-control alarm went off did he go down into the basement where the cell was located. Too late. Oury Jalloh was lying on a burning mattress, his body practically charcoaled. The remains of a lighter were only found in later investigations.

13 months following the death of Oury Jalloh there is still no clarity neither as to the circumstances of his death nor who is responsible for it. In spite of massive and publicly known irregularities and contradictions no legal proceedings seem likely. The responsible police and doctor continue their work. Although the State Prosecutor of Dessau has made formal accusations of negligent homicide and bodily harm with fatal consequences, new excuses are nevertheless found to close the case—to the point of absurdity. Now it is said that the formal complaints lodged by the lawyers in the name of the family are invalid because there is not enough evidence to prove whether or not the family of Oury Jalloh is truly his family. Although the press, on several occasions, reported on the racist background in relation to the unclear circumstances of the death of Oury Jalloh and a few initiatives have demanded a complete clarification of the contradictions, the court is until today blocking legal proceedings. It is common to speak about the racism of Nazis on the streets , yet as usual there is silence regarding the racism within state institutions.

Mouctar Bah, the person who has most engaged himself for truth and justice in the case of the murder of Oury Jalloh, is being criminalized and persecuted. On the 7th of February, the local authorities closed Mouctar’s Telecafé—out of “public interest.” The accusation was that Mouctar allows people who sell drugs into his store. The Telecafé was the basis of Mouctar’s financial existence and the meeting place for the Initiative in Memory of Oury Jalloh.

Protests are planned on 1 April 2006 in Dessau and London.