Mannheim Court in Uproar: Defence Lawyer quits, Toben Silent

Special to Action Report

 Mannheim, Germany, Monday, November 8, 1999 -- At the first day of the trial of Dr Fredrick Toben, held here on Thursday, lawyer Dr Ludwig Bock resigned as defence counsel to the Australian website historian in protest against the illegality of the proceedings.

The Court has ordered Bock to attend this week's hearing as Toben's court-appointed lawyer, and threatened imprisonment for contempt if he does not. Both Bock and Toben have announced to AR-Online that they will remain silent throughout the proceedings, which are expected to last all week with a police official giving evidence on Friday.

They will not open their mouths during the coming trial, as this is the only means left open to them to protest against Germany's unique laws for the suppression of free speech and against the suppression of proper judicial procedures. Lawyer Dr Bock: "This is an illegal trial."

Toben has been held in prison since he was arrested on April 9 during a pre-arranged visit to the office of Mannheim public prosecutor Hans Heiko Klein, who has been compared with Hitler's notorious hanging judge Roland Freisler. Some witnesses say that Klein has single-handedly done more harm to Germany's reputation among international jurists than any other person or event since the end of World War II.

Lawyer Dr Bock has protested that Klein has even threatened him with a jail sentence, for having stated in public as defence counsel that his client Dr Toben had been wrongfully arrested and imprisoned. "It was necessary for me to withdraw from the case," he has told AR-Online, "in order that the judges cannot afterwards maintain this was a fair trial."

Bock has described Toben's illegal arrest as a crime against humanity. Sentencing is expected on Friday.