- Abduction of Jakub Fiszman
The abduction and murder of Jakub Fiszman (1956–October 1996) was a crime that took place in
Eschborn ,Germany , in 1996. The investigation and trial of the perpetrators, house painter Rainer Körppen and his son Sven Körppen,cite news|title=Lebenslänglich für Körppen|language=German|author=dpa|publisher=Rhein-Zeitung |date=1998-10-01|url=http://www1.rhein-zeitung.de/on/98/10/01/index.html] cite news|title=Father, son convicted of kidnapping, murder|publisher=Associated Press |date=1998-10-01|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=APAB&d_place=APAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F8B6BF3059EB0E1&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM] produced substantial public and media attention, [See e.g. cite news|title=Le kidnapping de millionnaire, spécialité allemande|language=French|publisher=Le Monde |author=Lucas Delattre|date=1997-01-31|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/cgi-bin/ACHATS/246265.html] including TV documentaries.cite news|title=Familienbande - Der Mörder und sein Sohn|publisher=Hessischer Rundfunk |language=German|date=2006-06-29|url=http://www.hr-online.de/website/fernsehen/sendungen/index.jsp?rubrik=21936&key=standard_document_23760018] In the 2000s, it also spawned a series of lawsuits related to theprivacy of the perpetrators.Abduction and murder
The victim, Jakub Fiszman, was a
millionaire German businessman fromFrankfurt am Main . He was seized and carried off, even though injured, on October 1 1996 on the premises of his corporation in Eschborn.cite news|title=Chronologie: Die Entführung und Ermordung Jakub Fiszmans|language=German|publisher=Rhein-Zeitung |date=1997-10-04|url=http://rhein-zeitung.de/on/97/10/04/topnews/fiszchro.html] On October 10, the abductors received theransom payment of four millionDeutsche Mark that they had demanded.Rainer and Sven Körppen, along with three other people, were arrested by the police of the state of
Hessen on October 16. The badly decomposed body of Jakub Fiszman was eventually found on October 19 in theTaunus mountains, after a massive search operation involving some 500 police officers. The forensic report indicated that he was bludgeoned to death with a blunt instrument. Fiszman was buried on October 22 with great public attention.Trial and conviction
Criminal proceedings against Rainer and Sven Körppen began on October 2 1997. On October 1 1998, the principal perpetrator Rainer Körppen was sentenced to
life in prison and to indefinite security detention ("Sicherheitsverwahrung"). Sven Körppen was sentenced to twelve years of imprisonment.Privacy lawsuits
From prison, Rainer Körppen has filed suit against various German media, including the
Berliner Zeitung , theHessischer Rundfunk and theNorddeutscher Rundfunk , claiming that the reproduction of his full name in the online archives of the media coverage about his crime is in violation of his right to privacy. Even though he has little chance ever to be released, theLandgericht (state court)Hamburg has sided with him in several cases, holding that "reporting about a crime committed by a convicted person may substantially infringe their fundamental right to the free development of their personality". On appeal, however, theOberlandesgericht (supreme state court) Hamburg [cite news|title=Öffentliches Interesse nicht erloschen|author=Christoph Cuntz|publisher=Main-Rheiner |language=German|date=2008-05-31|url=http://www.main-rheiner.de/region/objekt.php3?artikel_id=3303231] andFrankfurt [cite news|title=Der zukünftigen Freiheit zuliebe|date=2007-10-31|author=René Martens|publisher=Frankfurter Rundschau |language=German|url=http://www.fr-online.de/in_und_ausland/kultur_und_medien/feuilleton/?cnt=1236303] have refused to order online archives to be altered.References
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