Death of Oury Jalloh

Death of Oury Jalloh

Oury Jalloh (born 1968 in Kabala, Sierra Leone[1]; died 7 January 2005 in Dessau, Germany) was a Sierra Leonean refugee who died in a fire in a police cell in Dessau, Germany. The hands and feet of Jalloh, who was alone in the cell, were tied to a mattress. A fire alarm went off, but was initially turned off without further action by an officer. The case caused national and international outrage.

In 2007, two officers were charged with causing bodily harm with fatal consequences and with involuntary manslaughter, respectively, but were acquitted in December 2008 for want of evidence. According to the presiding judge, contradictory testimony had prevented clarification of the circumstances and had obstructed due process. The Federal Court of Justice annulled one of the acquittals, and since January 2011, a different Landgericht than before is concerned with the case.

Contents

Life

According to his tombstone in Sierra Leone, Oury Jalloh was born in 1968.[2] In 2000[3], he fled from the Sierra Leone Civil War to Guinea, where his parents were already living, and then further to Germany, where he applied for political asylum.[1] Although his application was declined, he was suffered to stay in the country. His child with a German citizen was put up for adoption by the mother shortly after birth.[4] Several weeks before his death, Jalloh was convicted to a prison sentence of three and a half years for commercial drug traffic.

Death

According to the investigators, the fire broke out in the cell around midday. The fire alarm went off on two occasions. Noises and cries for 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. But by that time Jalloh was found lying on a burning mattress, his body severely burned. The remains of a lighter were only found in later investigations.

See also

  • Deaths in custody

References

  1. ^ a b Overath, Margot (7 January 2011). "Tod eines Asylanten - Was geschah in Zelle Nr. 5?" (in German). Der Tagesspiegel (Berlin, Germany). http://www.tagesspiegel.de/weltspiegel/was-geschah-in-zelle-nr-5/3692880.html. Retrieved 25 March 2011. 
  2. ^ Kolvenbach, Pagonakis (2006): "Tod in der Zelle – Warum starb Oury Jalloh?". Documentary film.
  3. ^ Flucht und Asyl
  4. ^ Wie starb Oury Jalloh?, Tagesspiegel 2011-07-30.

External links

English:

German:


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Oury Jalloh — Oury Jalloh, a 36 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… …   Wikipedia

  • Death in custody — is when a person dies when in the custody of the police, prison service or other authorities. Death in custody remains a controversial subject, with the authorities often being accused of abuse, neglect, racism and cover ups of the causes of… …   Wikipedia

  • Dessau — For other uses, see Dessau (disambiguation). Dessau Stadtteil of Dessau Roßlau Market square with fountain …   Wikipedia

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