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The Frankfurt lawyer was proposed by the Berlin Greens as a candidate for the Berlin Constitutional Court. Now the party is apparently backing down.
Berlin – Several judge positions at the Berlin Constitutional Court are to be filled. The parliamentary groups have nominated their own candidates for this. Is it about the candidate of the Green-Faction, block the CDU for months, as various media reported. According to Daily Mirror The Berlin Greens are now abandoning the nomination of Seda Başay-Yıldız for the Berlin Constitutional Court.
The reason for the CDU’s blockade is said to be a former client of the lawyer: In 2018, Başay-Yıldız represented the Islamist Sami A. as a criminal defense attorney.whose deportation to Tunisia in the same year was declared “evidently unlawful” by the Higher Administrative Court of Münster. “At the beginning of the week, the Daily Mirror With reference to security circles, the concerns about the candidacy were based on personal contacts,” the paper said.
Seda Başay-Yıldız blocked as candidate – and now dropped? CDU keeps quiet
Upon request from FR.de from IPPEN.MEDIA The Berlin CDU faction did not want to give any details about the background. “I will of course not make any statements about individual names or candidates, if only for the sake of protecting personal rights and confidentiality,” said the office of the Berlin CDU faction leader, Dirk Stettner. They are in good talks and are optimistic that they will be able to “present and then elect a good joint tableau of outstanding lawyers” before the summer break.
Criminal defense lawyers are organs of the legal system
Some legal experts cannot understand why a candidate for the position of judge at the Berlin Constitutional Court should be excluded because she has worked as a criminal defense attorney. FR.deWhen asked whether defending clients can be considered a disadvantage when filling judge positions, Frankfurt criminal lawyer and criminologist Prof. Dr. Tobias Singelnstein answers: “No, that should not be the case, because that is precisely their task as an organ of the administration of justice in a constitutional state.”
“Criminal defence has an indispensable role in the rule of law”
Kiel criminal lawyer Prof. Dennis Bock, who also acts as a defense attorney in criminal trials, sees things similarly. “Criminal defense has an indispensable role in criminal proceedings under the rule of law and is therefore a core area of the legal system. Rejecting candidates solely on the basis of their work as a criminal defense attorney is echoing barroom slogans and a “cut-off” mindset, ignoring any presumption of innocence and procedural human rights.”
Bock himself has been targeted by critics because he defends Christian B. The man is the main suspect in the Madeleine McCann case. The man is now also standing trial in the Braunschweig district court because he is accused of various sexual offenses. The criminal law expert says that when dealing with “clients who are emotionally agitated, he is often the victim of hate messages and hostility of all kinds, including from lawyers.”
Lawyers do not defend crimes, but alleged perpetrators
The criminal law expert at Bielefeld University, Prof. Dr. Charlotte Schmitt-Leonardy, also gave an unequivocal answer to our question as to whether it is possible to exclude criminal defense lawyers from judgeships because of their work. “No – the mere act of a client must not be to the disadvantage of criminal defense lawyers. It is a great achievement of the rule of law that the accused can make use of the assistance of a defense lawyer at any stage of the proceedings (§137 StPO). The defense lawyer does not defend the crime, but the alleged perpetrator (for whom the presumption of innocence is fought until the very end!). I even interpret the decision to take on cases that are difficult to mediate in terms of profitability and reputation as a remarkable commitment to constitutional criminal defense regardless of the specific client.”
“I therefore have the greatest confidence in the criminal defense lawyers – who, by the way, are part of the ‘organs of the administration of justice’ – that they can do justice to Article 79 of the Berlin Constitution (‘The judicial power is exercised in the name of the people by independent courts subject only to the law’) – that is, they can distinguish between their previous activities and their judicial activity,” continued Prof. Dr. Schmitt-Leonardy.
NSU and Hanau: Başay-Yıldız also active on the victims’ side
Başay-Yıldız is particularly known for her work on the side of victims. The Frankfurt lawyer became known primarily through the NSU trials, where she appeared as a co-plaintiff against the right-wing terrorists. The lawyer also represents three families of survivors in the Hanau assassination attemptin which nine people were murdered by a right-wing terrorist.
Başay-Yıldız receives multiple awards for civil courage
Başay-Yıldız has received several awards for her achievements, including the Ludwig Beck Prize for Civil Courage from the city of Wiesbaden and the Dachau Prize for Civil Courage. Başay-Yıldız also received the Georg Elser Prize for her civil courage. Her work as a criminal defense lawyer has not only cost the Frankfurt native her position as a judge at the Berlin Constitutional Court, but has also gotten her into trouble in the past.
On August 2, 2018, Başay-Yıldız received the first threatening fax in a series in which she was racially abused and threatened. The sender with the initials “NSU 2.0” also threatened to kill her child. Investigations revealed that shortly before Başay-Yildiz’s private data had been accessed on a computer in the 1st precinct in Frankfurt.
Başay-Yıldız learns from media that she has withdrawn her candidacy
When asked about the media report that the Greens had abandoned her as a candidate, Başay-Yıldız replied: “I know nothing about it.” The Berlin Greens faction has not yet commented on the matter. There was also no statement on the matter on their website until recently. (erpe)
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