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What To Do After a Right-Wing Attack? An Overview
People who become victims of right-wing violence find themselves suddenly torn from their everyday lives — often injured and afraid. They are quickly confronted by police and forced to make decisions on the spot. In such an unfamiliar situation, relatives and close friends of the victim are unsure as to how they can help. Which questions should be asked and which steps should be taken?
Receiving Support from Opferperspektive
The sooner contact is made to a victims’ outreach center, the sooner the initial necessary steps can be taken to provide support. Opferperspektive (»Victims’ Perspective«) is responsible for assisting victims of right-wing violence in Brandenburg. All issues can be discussed with its staff at the location of your choice within the »Bundesland« — confidentially, without judgment, and free of charge.
Immediately After an Attack
Providing support to the victim should be top priority. Relatives and friends should not leave the person who was attacked alone; rather they should offer to accompany the victim, ensuring the victim’s comfort and stability. If you yourself become a victim, you should not keep it to yourself, but find trusted people that you can ask for support.
If an attack results in physical injuries, seek medical treatment — even if the injuries seem insignificant. Let the doctor know about all injuries, and make certain that everything is well documented by the physician in their notes. Pictures should be taken of any externally visible injuries.
Carefully document any signs of force. Save any damaged or dirty clothing and other items that could be important. The better documented the damage, the better the incident can be described and substantiated to the victims’ benefit in the courtroom, in public relations, and if questions regarding responsibility for health care costs should arise.
Injured individuals and any other people who are considered witnesses should write their own detailed minute-by-minute account of the incident from memory. This will help recollect the precise events if, as circumstances require in some cases, witnesses need to make a statement several years later.
Reporting an Offense
When the police are called to a crime scene, they write down the personal information of the people present and carry out preliminary interviews. You can file a criminal report (»Strafanzeige«) at this stage or at a later date. It is also possible for friends to accompany you when you file a report with the police. Individuals who do not feel completely comfortable with German have the right to an interpreter at the police station, free of charge.
Some injured parties are afraid that if they file a report the perpetrators will seek revenge. This fear is difficult to overcome. In addition, some people have had negative experiences with the investigating authorities and as a result, are skeptical about cooperating with the police. This is also understandable.
Without a filed report, there is often no preliminary hearing or prosecution unless the incident comes to the attention of the police through other channels. If rightists predisposed towards violence are given the impression that their victims are too intimidated to file a report, they may feel legitimated and encouraged to commit further acts of violence. Moreover, a report is a prerequisite to receive restitution for economic loss and compensation for pain and suffering. It is also crucial for getting health-care costs covered.
If you file a report of the offense, be sure to lodge a complaint (»Strafantrag«_) at the same time. This is so the police are not only informed about a possible offense, but also so injuries resulting from lesser offenses can also be prosecuted if the situation allows. Anyone and everyone can file a report (»Strafanzeige«_), however the injured individual is the only person who can lodge the compliant (»Strafantrag«).
Criminal Procedure
If the report results in the initiation of a preliminary hearing (»Ermittlungverfahren«), then the various individuals involved — some as the witnesses and others as the defendants — will be asked by the police to participate in questioning. Victims are also witnesses. However, it is possible that victims will be summoned for questioning as the defendants as well. This usually happens because the perpetrators have also filed a report. This is simply the consequence of a legal proceeding and should not be cause for alarm. Nevertheless, defendants should always seek the advice of a lawyer who can help explain the process of a police summons.
The preliminary hearing is the first part of the criminal procedure. Once the police and the state prosecutor have finished the investigation, the State Prosecutor’s Office decides either to press charges or to drop them. The latter occurs when the offenders cannot be determined, or when there seems to be insufficient evidence for a verdict. If they decide to press charges and the court agrees, the main hearing begins. This is the decisive part of the trial.
Sometimes the trial doesn’t occur until up to two years after the incident. During the trial, the court hears all witnesses again. The trial ends with a verdict that can range from an acquittal to a prison sentence.
Obtaining Legal Support
First and foremost, victims are witnesses in the criminal procedure. In order to actively represent their interests, the victim has the right to initiate a joint action suit (»Nebenklage« — this allows the victim’s lawyer to motion, question and provide explanations during the criminal hearing). For this purpose, the injured party hires a lawyer to represent them during the trial. Their lawyer can gain access to case files, which provide insight into the investigation and help determine the direction the criminal procedure is taking. Joint action is not an option for some offenses, like for example, when the perpetrator is a minor.
Monetary Compensation
The civil court procedure normally determines retribution for economic losses and compensation for pain and suffering. Individuals who have been injured due to a criminal act can and should submit an additional claim (»Adhäsionsantrag«) to request a hearing in criminal court. In so doing, your civil rights claims can be concurrently decided during the criminal proceedings. Hiring a lawyer for this process is advisable. If the sentence rendered in the criminal courts does not address your claims, it is still possible to file a suit in the civil courts.
An almost certain way to receive general damages more quickly and with minimal effort is to apply for compensation through the funds for victims of right-wing violence. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office administers these funds.
Delayed Psychological Effects
Most apparent after an attack are the physical effects — yet such attacks can also result in adverse psychological effects. Solidarity and emotional support from friends and family help in the first few weeks. If the injured party is still uneasy, anxious or edgy several weeks after the attack, if they can’t get the awful images out of their head, psychotherapeutic counseling should be sought to heal or possibly avoid mental health disorders.
Getting involved
Personal conflicts or disagreements between groups of youth are not the impetus for right-wing attacks. As a rule, right-wing violence is not directed at individuals, but rather at a social group rejected by the right such as immigrants, the homeless, punks, or those who publicly position themselves against neo-Nazis.
If everyone supposedly has the right to move about freely and without fear in our society, then people who become victims of right-wing violence should be protected and supported. The emotional support of friends and demonstrations of solidarity on the community level are important to those affected by an attack. Should such reactions be missing, it can lead to intimidation and the impression that the right controls public space. For this reason, it only makes sense to publicize right-wing violence and condemn it – but this should always be discussed and agreed upon with the victim, no matter what the circumstances.
Refugees
Refugees in the process of seeking asylum or those granted tolerated status (»Duldung«) are subject to a number of special laws that limit their access to health care and their freedom of movement. These restrictive, exclusionary policies make it even more difficult to work through the effects of violence. Consequently, asylum seekers and people with an unregulated residency status need even more support.
(OPP)
